In a bid to force the U.S. Department of Agriculture to take action on antibiotic-resistant strains of salmonella in ground meat and poultry, the Center for Science in the Public Interest sued the agency Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Three years ago, the nonprofit food safety watchdog filed a citizen’s petition with USDA asking the agency to declare four strains of salmonella that are resistant to antibiotics to be impermissible “adulterants” under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act. Doing so would prohibit the sale of meat tainted with these strains and give the agency greater authority to issue recalls.
