USDA: Poultry plants linked to outbreak stay open

Jordan Brewer Article 1

http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/USDA-Poultry-plants-linked-to-outbreak-stay-open-4886115.php

Mary Clare Jalonick San Antonio Express News October 13, 2013

Category of problem: food outbreak

Level of problem: National

Article concerns: Salmonella outbreak in 17 states across The US

Article affects families or individuals:
A salmonella outbreak is always a big concern for families because it affects the the immune compromised such as children and the sick and elderly.  The government being shut down did not help this situation at all because families were not able to hear about the outbreak as easily because the government websites were shutdown.

My opinion on the article:
I think the government should take a stronger role in this situation.  At first they did not even open their websites up to allow the general population in those 17 states to hear that there was a serious outbreak of salmonella from the poultry they are consuming.  Salmonella can be destroyed with proper handling and cooking to the right temperatures, but not everyone knows this.  Not only should the websites have been opened back up as far as the USDA is concerned, but I think there needs to be more publicity on how the handling of poultry should be assessed as to avoid ever catching this nasty outbreak that seems to happen more often than it should.  I like how there will be further inspections over the next three months but I just hope it is as serious of an inspection nationwide as it needs to be as this is a serious issue.