CHICKEN NOT MAIN SALMONELLA CAUSE, OFFICIAL SAYS
  A representative of the poultry
  industry said statistics showed that chicken is less frequently
  the cause of salmonella poisoning than beef, dairy products or
  salads and other mixed foods.
      Kenneth May, President of Holly Farms Poultry Industries
  and a director of the National Broiler Council, told a House
  Agriculture subcommittee the incidence of salmonella in chicken
  has not increased in recent years and that chicken is neither
  the major source of the bacterial poisoning nor the cause of an
  increase in outbreaks of the disease.
      May said the Center for Disease Control figures showed that
  between 1978 and 1982, chicken was involved in four pct of all
  U.S. salmonellosis outbreaks, while beef accounted for ten pct
  of outbreaks and dairy products six pct.
      May said the remaining outbreaks were caused by salads and
  mixed food, turkey, seafood, pork, eggs and other foods.
      May said the chicken industry favored moving away from
  bird-by-bird inspection procedures to a risk assessment system
  better able to identify microbial and bacterial contamination
  of poultry.
      However, Ellen Haas, executive director of Public Voice for
  Food and Health Policy, said bird-by-bird inspection should be
  retained and labels should be attached to each ready-to-cook
  chicken to remind consumers about preparation procedures
  necessary to avoid illness.
      Haas also called for a review of present chicken industry
  inspection methods that she said can worsen poultry hazards.
  

