USDA will hold a public summit on pre-harvest food safety on Wednesday, November 9 in Washington, D.C., Under Secretary of Food Safety Elisabeth Hagen announced Wednesday.
“We are not looking to go on the farm, but we have to sponsor the discussion,” Hagen said in her remarks at a food safety event this week in Washington. “We think we have to be looking at food safety all the way through,” she said. “We are not looking to regulate processors at FSIS, but everything that happens on the farm impacts what we do, it impacts the amount of risk that has to be handled throughout the system,” Hagen emphasized.
During the event, Hagen also hinted at strengthening Salmonella standards for poultry, in light of the Salmonella outbreak that prompted a recent ground turkey recall. “You’re going to see some steps from the agency on ground poultry,” said Hagen, noting that FSIS will be taking a “proactive approach” to prevent human illness.
