FSIS data shows decline in Salmonella positives in most categories

Data released recently by FDA’s Food Safety and Inspection service shows positive results for Salmonella testing have decreased year over year across all categories except steers and heifers. The agency collected 30,686 verification samples across eight categories, and observed the following levels of contamination:  young chicken, 4.3 percent; market hog, 1.3 percent; cow/bull, 0 percent; steer/heifer, 1.1 percent; ground beef, 1.9 percent; ground chicken, 28 percent; ground turkey, 11 percent; and turkey, 2.2 percent.