Washington Post Article Questions Whether Chemicals are Masking Salmonella in Poultry

In an August 3, 2013, Washington Post article, writer Kimberly Kindy suggested that some of the chemicals—notably cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), a purportedly common finishing rinse—used in U.S. poultry processing plants may be masking the presence of Salmonella and other pathogens that remain on the birds that are sold to consumers. Titled “USDA Reviews Whether Bacteria-Killing Chemicals are Masking Salmonella,” Kindy reports that academic researchers agree that “the chemicals could be overwhelming an antiquated testing process,” and she states that several of the scientists have been enlisted by U.S. Department of Agriculture food safety experts to investigate the matter.

At issue, Kindy contends, is whether CPC, or other antimicrobials, might
remain on the samples collected for pathogen testing at a high enough
concentration to kill the bacteria on the way to the lab. If so, Food Safety and
Inspection Service experts could perceive a false negative test result when the
chicken may actually be contaminated. This could explain why government
data show significant reductions in Salmonella rates in poultry plants while
the number of people getting sick from Salmonella in poultry appears to have
stayed the same.