The introduction of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) program in chicken processing plants has likely prevented at least 190,000 cases of salmonellosis cases in the United States in 2000 compared with 1995, according to a study published in the Foodborne Pathogens and Disease journal. The salmonellosis cases are attributed to broilers only. Between 1996 and 2000, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) conducted its staged implementation of HACCP to reduce microbial contamination during production.
The model also found a 56 percent reduction in the proportion of contaminated broiler carcasses observed between 1995 and 2000. To estimate the number of chicken-related salmonellosis cases between 1996 and 2000, the study incorporates information from public health surveillance and surveys of the poultry slaughter industry through time.
Estimated illnesses prevented, due to the more modest reduction in contamination of 13 percent between 2000 and 2007, were not statistically significant, according to the study.
