Toxoplasma gondii is an extremely serious parasite that is a leading cause of hospitalizations (fourth leading) and death (second only to Salmonella) from foodborne sources in the United States.
In 1987, the Meat Science Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, prepared an Israel — United States Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation funding request to reduce the presence of pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella on poultry and to more readily remove feathers during processing.