Americans trust that the food on store shelves is safe to eat. But according to a new report from Farm Forward, that trust may be misplaced. The investigation reveals that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been allowing poultry companies to sell chicken contaminated with Salmonella — and even supply it to schools and food assistance programs for seniors.
Millions of Contaminated Packages Hit Shelves Each Year
Farm Forward’s report, “How the USDA and the US Poultry Industry Fail to Protect Americans from Foodborne Disease,” details how the USDA’s weak oversight and lack of enforcement authority allow dangerous levels of contamination to persist.
The data shows that major poultry producers — including household names like Perdue, Foster Farms, Butterball, and Costco’s supplier, Lincoln Premium Poultry — have repeatedly failed Salmonella inspections. In some cases, one in four packages of ground chicken or turkey could be contaminated.
And yet, the USDA continues to approve these products for sale.
The usda’s food safety system is broken
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) sets contamination limits for Salmonella in poultry products — but those limits are dangerously lax, and even when plants fail inspection, the agency has little power to act.
Farm Forward found that the USDA cannot suspend or shut down plants for contamination, cannot recall Salmonella-positive meat, and cannot stop contaminated products from entering the food supply.
That means contaminated chicken from facilities that fail inspection still ends up in grocery stores, school cafeterias, and senior food programs across the country.
Public health and animal welfare are deeply connected
The report also reveals that the same facilities failing food safety inspections often have documented animal welfare violations. Birds raised in overcrowded, stressful factory farm conditions are more likely to become sick and shed bacteria like Salmonella.
This link between inhumane treatment and foodborne illness underscores a larger systemic issue: industrial farming practices aren’t just harmful to animals — they’re making people sick.
Why isn’t the USDA doing more?
Despite acknowledging the risks, the USDA lacks the authority to recall contaminated chicken — even when its own testing shows high Salmonella levels. While the agency proposed new rules in 2024 to strengthen its authority, those reforms were rolled back in 2025, leaving consumers more vulnerable than ever.
As Farm Forward’s Executive Director, Andrew deCoriolis, explains:
“Ultimately, Salmonella contamination is a systemic failure of factory farming. Salmonella can be found everywhere in industrial poultry products due to the poultry industry’s relentless drive for profit, and it’s the government regulators letting it happen. Salmonella bacteria contaminate almost every stage of production, from breeding birds to the slaughterhouse. Fixing the problem requires radically rethinking how we raise animals for food.”
What needs to change
Farm Forward is calling for a zero-tolerance policy for Salmonella-contaminated meat and stronger regulatory authority for the USDA to enforce recalls and close noncompliant plants.
The organization argues that consumers should have the same level of protection from contaminated chicken as they do from contaminated eggs, which the FDA routinely recalls when Salmonella is detected.
Until regulations change, consumers are left to navigate a food system that too often prioritizes profit over safety.
Learn more
Farm Forward’s full report provides detailed data and evidence on how this problem developed — and what can be done to fix it.
Read the full investigation on Farm Forward’s website
Leave a Reply