HACCP and the Poultry Industry

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Recommended: The importance of health and safety in poultry production

James Gillespie reports that food poisoning due to four major bacterial pathogens—Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes—results in 4,000 deaths and five million illnesses each year in the United States (26). Out of all foodborne illness cases in the U.S., 66% are caused by bacteria, 25% by chemicals, 5% by viruses, and 4% by parasites (25). It is evident that food contamination poses a serious threat to consumers. It is for this reason that the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system was developed and is being implemented in every country (Sandrou and Arvannitoyanis 266). This system provides a scientific approach to combating food contamination, has a broad range of applications, and is directly related to the progress of the poultry industry.

An E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in 1993 acted as a wake-up call to the nation that the meat and poultry inspection practices in use at that time weren't as effective as needed. Up until this point, slaughter inspections consisted of visually assessing the animals and birds and checking the carcasses for abscesses, foreign matter, or feces contamination. With this system the focus was placed on the presence or absence of unhealthy meat rather than on the specific practices of the companies in dealing with the meat. In response, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) set out to renovate the system. Prior to this occurrence, in 1971 HACCP was developed as a program to monitor food production for NASA. Although some slaughter companies had been using HACCP voluntarily since its inception, the FSIS moved to make HACCP a mandatory practice for all plants within the next few years. By January 2000, all slaughter plants were required ...

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...nd adapt to various changes within the world of food production and to sidestep potential hindrances along the way. It is directly related to every aspect within the industry, giving it great influence on the success of the industry as a whole. The poultry industry is already dealing with enough potential risk factors these days such as animal rights activists and anti-cage laws, at least with the proper execution of HACCP, their products, procedures, and practices can be proven safe and effective.

Works Cited

Gillespie, James R. "The Livestock Industry: Food Safety." Modern Livestock & Poultry Production. 7th ed. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson/Delmar Learning, 2004. 25-28. Print.

Sandrou, D. K. and Arvanitoyannis, I. S.(1999) 'Implementation of hazard analysis critical control point

in the meat and poultry industry', Food Reviews International, 15: 3, 265 — 308.

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