Custom Craft Poultry, Little Rock, Ark.
P47591 • Medium plant • Data from March 2021 to March 2022
Your likelihood of getting sick depends on many factors, including: how the poultry is cooked and handled; your immune system; and the quantity and types of salmonella present. “High-risk” salmonella strains are more likely to cause illness than “low-risk” types. According to the CDC, if you avoid cross-contamination and cook the poultry to 165°F, the meat should be safe to eat even if it had high-risk salmonella. Learn more about safe handling and cooking techniques from the CDC.
This plant met the USDA standard for chicken parts because salmonella was found in less than 15.4% of samples. In total, 11.1% of the chicken parts samples had salmonella of any type. Plants can still meet USDA standards even if they have rates of high-risk salmonella that are above the industry median because the standards focus on all salmonella rather than the types most likely to make people sick.
The USDA tested 18 chicken parts samples from this plant over the past year. One in nine samples had a strain of salmonella resistant to antibiotics commonly used to treat infections. The plant processed an estimated 1 million to 10 million pounds of meat and poultry in total each month.
There are more than 2,500 types of salmonella, but fewer than 100 account for most human infections. Below are the types of salmonella found in this plant’s chicken parts. The USDA does not measure the quantity of salmonella in each poultry sample, only whether or not salmonella is present.