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USDA defends meat, poultry testing

The USDA says a recent Consumer Reports article that claims that meat and poultry purchased in the grocery store could contain harmful drug residue is simply untrue.

Carmen Rottenberg, with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, says the Consumer Reports article cites unconfirmed preliminary test results taken from poultry in 2017.

“This reliance on a document that contains data that Consumer Reports didn’t know how to read has really resulted in unnecessarily causing concern,” she says.

She says the USDA’s rigorous inspection and testing ensures that the U.S. meat supply is safe.

As for its drug residue testing program, she says that if meat or poultry tests positive during a preliminary test it undergoes a follow-up test. If drug reside is found in the follow-up test, the product is not sold for human consumption.