Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Our Blog,Salmonella on May 25, 2025
Consumer Reports releases a list of the most contaminated poultry plants in the U.S. You may recognize some of those brands.
What exactly does that mean? How can you protect yourself and your family?
Follow along to find out!
The consumer advocacy group, Consumer Reports, released a report that listed the most contaminated poultry plants in the United States.
This report was based on The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data obtained from sampling activities by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) through January 25, 2025.
Plants were placed in one of three categories.
Category 1 is the designation for the best performing plants. To meet this status, the plant must have “achieved 50 percent positive for Salmonella during the most recent one year window.”
These plants are in compliance.
Plants with the Category 2 designation are “average performing plants.” While they do meet the maximum allowable percent for positive Salmonella samples, more than half of the samples have over 50 percent of the maximum allowable percentage for the bacteria.
These plants are also in compliance.
Those plants in Category 3 are the subject of the Consumer Reports report. Plants in Category 3 exceed the maximum allowable percentage for positive Salmonella samples. Under these conditions, Salmonella control is quite difficult. Often leading to serious product contamination and potential outbreaks.
These plants are not in compliance with this maximum allowable percentage requirement.
According to the report, “the plants included in the chart have been in Category 3 for most, if not all, of the past six months, meaning there is a higher risk of a Salmonella outbreak originating from one of these plants.
In all, 47 plants made the list. Several companies have plants in various locations.
So, who is on the list?
Some of the big ones include:
The chicken giant’s plant in Springdale, Arkansas made the list.
In addition to branded Tyson chicken products, the brand also provides chicken for several other companies and under different brands.
You may recognize:
Three Butterball turkey plants made the Category 3 designation. While Butterball is famous for their whole turkeys, the plants included on the list appear to be limited to the ground turkey production plants.
Locations include:
One of Perdue Foods turkey processing plants, also responsible for ground turkey, made the Category 3 designation.
This plant is in the city of Washington, Indiana.
The H-E-B Meat Plant in San Antonio, TX also made the notorious Category 3 designation. This plant produces ground chicken products
If you live in Texas, you have likely heard of this company and consumed their products.
The following plants are larger producers that you may not recognize. But odds are, the names of some of the products you probably do know.
The remaining products represent their own brand or private label for smaller ones. Some offer distribution and others supply exclusively to restaurants and/or food services.
Though outbreaks can original from plants in any category, those in Category 3 have increased risk factors. Specifically for Salmonella contamination.
Salmonella is the bacteria responsible for the illness salmonellosis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that Salmonella bacteria are responsible for about 1.35 million infections in the United States each year. These lead to around 26,500 hospitalizations and 420 deaths.
Food is the primary source of these illnesses.
Salmonella infection symptoms can begin anywhere from six hours to six days after exposure.
Most people experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps that last about a week (four to seven days).
Certain groups of people have conditions or susceptibilities that make them more likely to become sick if exposed, and experience more severe symptoms if infected.
Those more vulnerable to Salmonella infection include:
Those more likely to experience sever symptoms include:
While most people do not need medical intervention and are not prescribed antibiotic treatment, those in the higher risk group are more likely to receive treatment.
In some cases, complications may arise from infection.
Most of the time Salmonella bacteria are limited to the intestinal tract. However, in some cases, the bacteria can breach the intestinal wall and enter the bloodstream capillaries and veins found there. When this happens, bacteria may infect the urinary tract, blood, bones, joints, and even the nervous system.
Common Salmonella complications include reactive arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and bacteremia that can affect other parts of the body.
Selecting quality poultry products may be your best bet to protect yourself and your family from Salmonella infections. But how do you know what is contaminated and what is not?
Sadly, you can’t.
So, what can you do? Fortunately, even if you do purchase poultry products contaminated with Salmonella, you can still take a few extra steps to help prevent infection.
Often, protection comes down to this simple task. Wash your hands with warm soapy water while cooking. Do this before you begin, after handling raw meat, and again when you are done cooking. Be sure to also wash knives or other utensils used on meat before using them for other foods.
Keep dedicated cutting boards for meat and other foods. Keeping meat cutting boards separate from those used to cut vegetables can help prevent the spread of Salmonella and other harmful germs.
Poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165° F. A temperature sufficient to kill harmful bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Always use a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat to ensure an appropriate minimum internal temperature is met.
Starting at the grocery store all the way to transport and storage at home, keep raw meat separate from food you will not be cooking. Fruits and vegetables or prepared foods. Once home, place meat in a bag or bowl to prevent juices from leaking onto other foods or throughout the refrigerator.
Frozen meat should never be thawed on the counter. I’m sure you likely grew up this way. But improper temperature control can lead to bacterial growth and foodborne illness. Thaw it in the refrigerator instead. This is also a good time to point out that your refrigerator should be kept at below 40° F.
Will knowing the names of the most contaminated poultry plants influence you buying decision? Will you potentially select one brand or the other? Or does knowing that the list for Category 3 plants is so long bring attention to the ways that you can help reduce your risk of Salmonella infection, by taking matters into your own hands?
You cannot necessarily control what is on the meat that you buy. But you can prepare it safely.
If you’d like to know more about food safety topics in the news, like “Consumer Reports Releases List of Most Contaminated Poultry Plants in the U.S.,” check out the Make Food Safe Blog. We regularly update trending topics, foodborne infections in the news, recalls, and more! Stay tuned for quality information to help keep your family safe, while The Lange Law Firm, PLLC strives to Make Food Safe!
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)