COVID-19 isn’t the only health risk we face this Thanksgiving

As millions of American families prepare to join together this Thanksgiving, either in person or even over video chat, COVID-19 looms large, and not just because of the heightened risk of virus transmission caused by social gatherings. 

Though we should all work to mitigate the risk of spreading the virus to one another, the traditional annual turkey dinner — eaten by upwards of 88 percent of Americans — faces unprecedented unique challenges caused by this year’s pandemic that should have every American thinking about where that turkey came from and what was done to ensure its safety and integrity. 

A quick glance at this year’s headlines shows just how heavily the meat industry has been strained by COVID-19, with coronavirus-linked processing plant shutdowns leading to meat shortages earlier this spring. But the greater danger to Americans’ Thanksgiving celebrations lies not in meat shortages, but in one of the most common foodborne pathogens: salmonella, which the Centers for Disease Control estimates leads to 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations and 420 deaths each year in the United States, with a significant portion of cases being transmitted through food, including turkey meat.

Salmonella can find its way into animals in several ways, including contact with other infected animals and consuming contaminated feed. At processing, salmonella can then become a meat contaminant. The meat industry controls for salmonella and other pathogens at a number of points throughout the production process, including plant worker testing, but the onus too often falls on consumers to cook meat thoroughly enough to kill any remaining pathogens. 

According to FoodSafety.gov, a resource of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the primary methods for preventing salmonella infection are to “avoid eating high-risk foods,” including raw or undercooked meat and to wash your hands after contact with animals, their food or treats or their environment.

To destroy bacteria and prevent foodborne illness, FoodSafety.gov recommends Americans cook a 12-pound stuffed turkey for three and a half hours at 325 degrees. A food thermometer should be used to ensure that a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees is reached, destroying any Salmonella or other bacteria that may be on the turkey. 

But while these are sound recommendations, the burden for keeping food safe should not fall so heavily on families, or even on the employees at America’s meat plants, many of whom were sidelined from this critical work having been exposed to COVID-19 themselves. Fortunately, owing to new technologies, meat producers along the food supply chain are more capable than ever of ensuring that they deliver safe food to grocery store shelves. In fact, controlling for dangerous pathogens like salmonella has become increasingly easy at more points in the live animal production process, including the feed and raw ingredient stages, which could help reduce the occurrence of the deadly bacteria in meat products. 

The scary truth is, salmonella can survive in feed for up to 100 days and be transmitted through animal feed products, potentially resulting in infected turkeys being sold to consumers. Thorough feed sanitization is one technology intervention that can significantly reduce this method of entry of salmonella into the food supply chain, resulting in safer products on grocery stores shelves and kitchen counters.  

Americans expect the food they purchase for their families to be safe and free of dangerous pathogens. While proper food handling remains important, it should not be the primary defense against foodborne illnesses. Producers along the food supply chain are increasingly capable of shouldering greater responsibility for the safety of their products. 

This Thanksgiving, consumers would be wise to take extra precautions to mitigate the risk of salmonella in their turkey dinners, but in the future, it must be incumbent on meat producers to take advantage of the tools available to them. 

Our country’s economic wellbeing is inextricably tied to the health of meat supply chains. While hurdles remain, the industry must answer the call to ensure consumer safety and our nation’s public health. And if our meat production industry is to truly bounce back stronger than ever, government officials must work alongside industry leaders to implement proven solutions to strengthen our food supply chains. 

Dr. William James coordinated animal welfare enforcement throughout the country during his 28-year career in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and he directed inspection of livestock and poultry and had executive oversight of import and export issues for the U.S. Food Safety Inspection Service.