This Super Bowl, the USDA Recommends a Winning Play Against BAC

The long-awaited game of the year is here and whether or not your team will vie for the Lombardi Trophy, one thing holds true – there will be lots of cheers, some tears and a whole lot of food. While enjoying some of the 1 billion chicken wings consumed on Super Bowl Sunday, FSIS wants to remind fans not to let foodborne illness sideline them once the game is over. Follow USDA’s winning plays to combat foodborne illness at your Super Bowl party.

Clean Play

Wash your hands, but not those wings. According to the National Chicken Council, more than 1.3 billion chicken wings will be consumed this Super Bowl, but washing those wings is not recommended because bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can splash and spread to other foods, utensils and surfaces, contaminating them.

Play Defense

Don’t cross contaminate. When you are shopping at the grocery store keep raw meat, poultry, eggs and seafood in separate plastic bags to prevent their juices from dripping onto other foods. Always remember to use a separate cutting board for fresh fruits and vegetables and for raw meats.

Intercept Bacteria

Raw meat, poultry, seafood and egg products need to be cooked to the right internal temperature. Use a food thermometer to ensure foods have reached the correct temperature to kill any harmful bacteria that may be present. Chicken wings are safe to eat when they have reached an internal temperature of 165°F.

Cool Play

Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Keep food hot (at 140°F or above) in a slow cooker or chafing dish, or keep half of the food on the table and the other half in the oven and swap it out every hour. Keep cold foods cold (at 40°F or below) by placing salads, dips and salsa in a tray of ice.

Avoid the Danger Zone

Don’t leave food sitting out. Most bacteria grow rapidly at temperatures between 40°F and 140°F. That temperature range is known as the “Danger Zone.” Refrigerate food promptly. Do not leave food at room temperature for more than two hours. For more food safety information you can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at (1-888-674-6854) Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

FSIS Updates PHIS Export Country Rollout Strategy

FSIS is announcing an update to the first group of countries scheduled for implementation of the Public Health Information System (PHIS) export component. On June 29, 2018, FSIS will begin implementing the PHIS export component with 15 of the countries announced in the Sept. 9, 2017 Federal Register notice that do not maintain Export Library requirements, and one additional non-Export Library country.*  Although FSIS originally intended to include Australia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and Paraguay in the first group of countries, each of these countries has, or will have, Export Library requirements, so FSIS is not going to include them in June.

FSIS will start using the PHIS export component for all countries that do not have Export Library requirements prior to countries with Export Library requirements to ensure that countries’ Export Library requirements are met as the system is deployed. FSIS will place all countries that maintain Export Library requirements including Australia, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates, in later phases of the PHIS export module implementation. Countries that are not currently included in the Export Library, but develop Export Library requirements before June 2018, will be moved to later phases of implementation with other countries that have Export Library requirements. Because Paraguay intends to implement an Export Library requirement, FSIS is also placing Paraguay in a later phase and is replacing it in Phase 1 with French Guiana, a non-Export Library country. FSIS will post future updates on the PHIS export component web page.

* Bahamas; Afghanistan; Guinea; French Guiana; Gambia; Mozambique; Tanzania; Burundi; Uganda; Liberia; Ethiopia; Bolivia; Andorra; San Marino; Cook Islands; Cape Verde

E. coli Testing Update

FSIS posts biweekly updates of the Agency’s raw ground beef E. coli sampling program, which includes testing results of raw ground beef component samples for E. coli O157:H7 and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STECs) from FSIS routine and follow-up sampling programs. Data are also presented for non-O157 STECs by each non-O157 STEC serogroup.

Between June 4, 2012 and Jan. 14, 2018, FSIS laboratory services analyzed a total of 21,674 beef trim samples (17,653 domestic and 4,021 imported), 4,567 routine follow-up samples (4,453 domestic and 114 imported), and 364 non-routine follow-up/traceback samples. 212 samples were found to be positive; 127 were domestic trim samples, 11 were imported trim samples, 70 were domestic follow-up samples, and four were non-routine follow-up/traceback samples. To date, three samples have been positive for both O157:H7 and at least one non-O157 STEC strain and 11 samples have been positive for two different non-O157 O-groups.

To review testing results, visit the E. coli data tables at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/science-data/data-sets-visualizations/microbiology.

Policy Updates

FSIS notices and directives on public health and regulatory issues are available at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/directives-notices. The following policy updates was recently issued:

• Docket No. FSIS-2016-0017- Modernization of Swine Slaughter Inspection