foodborne illness

USDA Reveals Plan to Address Foodborne Illness

Dan Agri-Business, Beef, Cattle, Eggs, FSIS, Livestock, Pork, Poultry, Research, USDA

New Food Safety Laboratory Opens with National Strategy to Protect Consumers

foodborne illness

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled a comprehensive plan to combat foodborne illness with the recent opening of its modernized Midwestern Food Safety Laboratory. Announced by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, the plan enhances the Department’s approach to food safety, particularly concerning meat, poultry, and egg products.

USDA Reveals Plan to Address Foodborne Illness
Enhanced Testing and Stronger Oversight

Central to the USDA’s new strategy is the bolstering of its Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) capabilities. The initiative includes:

  • Expanding microbiological testing and oversight across the food supply chain.
  • Providing FSIS inspectors with updated tools and training to improve real-time food safety monitoring.
  • Tasking FSIS with identifying more effective approaches to reduce Salmonella in poultry products.
  • Empowering inspectors to issue notices of intended enforcement or suspend operations in facilities with recurring violations.
  • Strengthening partnerships with states through cooperative inspection programs.

These actions aim to prevent foodborne illness at its source and build public trust in the safety of the nation’s food supply.

Secretary Rollins on USDA’s Commitment

Secretary Rollins emphasized the broader mission behind the plan, stating:

“President Trump is committed to ensuring American consumers have the safest, most abundant, and affordable food supply in the world. When it comes to food safety, USDA is charting a bold new course in giving consumers confidence in their meat, poultry, and egg products meeting our best-in-class food safety standards.”

She added that ongoing collaboration with other federal agencies, states, and industry partners is essential to achieving long-term improvements in public health.

Federal-State Collaboration Reinforced

This new plan follows a previous USDA announcement of $14.5 million in funding to support state-level meat and poultry inspection programs. FSIS has signed cooperative agreements with all 29 states that currently operate such programs, reinforcing a unified national approach to food safety enforcement.

— Reporting by Dale Sandlin, Southeast AgNet