Doctors Petition Feds Label Meat as Biohazard
WASHINGTON, DC-The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has petitioned the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to declare feces an adulterant in poultry and meat products, leaving them unfit for sale.
The petition also calls for meat to be label as a biohazard, letting consumers know that the products could be contaminated with feces, and therefore foodborne pathogens.
Mindy Kursban, PCRM's staff attorney, said factory-farming practices offer the perfect environment for pathogens such as E. coli 0157:h7, salmonella, and other disease-causing bacteria, to breed and infect.
"The USDA needs to strengthen regulations and warn consumers that poultry and meat often have traces of feces on them," she said. "Under current regulations, people can become ill and even die from eating poultry and meat that passed USDA's inspection because the current inspection system is too weak to protect consumers."
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate there are 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths linked to foodborne pathogens.
CDC Urges Vigilance: New Recommendations for Monitoring and Testing H5N1 Exposures
July 11th 2025With avian influenza A(H5N1) infections surfacing in both animals and humans, the CDC has issued updated guidance calling for aggressive monitoring and targeted testing to contain the virus and protect public health.
IP LifeLine: Layoffs and the Evolving Job Market Landscape for Infection Preventionists
July 11th 2025Infection preventionists, once hailed as indispensable during the pandemic, now face a sobering reality: budget pressures, hiring freezes, and layoffs are reshaping the field, leaving many IPs worried about their future and questioning their value within health care organizations.
A Helping Hand: Innovative Approaches to Expanding Hand Hygiene Programs in Acute Care Settings
July 9th 2025Who knew candy, UV lights, and a college kid in scrubs could double hand hygiene adherence? A Pennsylvania hospital’s creative shake-up of its infection prevention program shows that sometimes it takes more than soap to get hands clean—and keep them that way.
