The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees all non-meat foods except fish, over which the FDA retains jurisdiction. Non-fish meat is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). This is just an odd historical development that to many, including salmonella lawyer Ron Simon, appears antiquated. Granted, under either the FDA or the FSIS, any food with E. coli O157 would immediately be recalled to protect the safety of the consumers, even though a meat producer could argue that E. coli dies if the meat is properly cooked to a recommended internal temperature.
Following that logic, it would make sense that any food that has salmonella in it would also be immediately subject to recall.
And, in fact, it would be if that food were under the jurisdiction of the FDA. But chicken is not under the FDA, and in an odd twist, even if the chicken contains potentially life threatening salmonella, the producer does not have to issue a recall. In fact, even if the chicken contains antibiotic resistant salmonella, which is even more dangerous, the producer can continue to market and sell the product under the rules set by the USDA.
This is why Foster Farms chicken is still on the market. As of March 2014, there have been at least 500 victims of seven different strains of salmonella linked to Foster Farms chicken. And yet there has been no recall initiated by the manufacturer–even though there have been a few vendors and grocers who have pulled Foster Farm’s chicken believed to be contaminated with salmonella, the producer has refused to do so, and the FSIS had not compelled it to do so. At present, Foster Farm’s chicken remains on the market even though it has caused immense harm to consumers.
Salmonella lawyer Ron Simon believes it is time to do away with the archaic distinction between non-meat food and meats, and apply the safest standards possible to all consumables. Food in America should be safe from manufacturer to table without exception. Ron Simon believes this strongly enough that he is representing victims of the Foster Farm’s salmonella outbreak. And he will continue to pursue those companies that produce food that is not fit for human consumption in an effort to reduced food borne illness in the United States.
If you have any questions about an outbreak of salmonella or any other food borne illness, feel free to contact the food poisoning lawyers at Ron Simon & Associates.
