There have been several recent events of note that will impact meat and poultry producers and processors. The recent election of President-elect Biden means there will be new leadership at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all, as unusual as this holiday might have been for many of us. Here in the Hanacek household, we kept it low-key this year. 

Salmonella Reading is not usually a pathogen of concern, however when an outbreak does occur it garners plenty of public attention. There have been two recent S. Reading outbreaks in North America. The most recent outbreak occurred in 2019 and was linked to contaminated ground turkey products.¹

The three main components of pre-harvest intervention — probiotics and prebiotics in animal feed, pathogen resistance through vaccines or antimicrobials, and biosecurity protocols — all work together to reduce foodborne pathogens in beef, poultry and pork. Each operation, however, has to tinker with the formula to create its ideal solution.