According to ProPublica's investigation, the USDA and chicken companies were aware of a dangerous salmonella strain in chicken products, yet contaminated meat continued to be sold to consumers.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by ProPublica's original investigation and corroborated by multiple independent outlets (The Counter, GovExec, OPB) citing the same reporting and USDA data. [tier=unverified indep_score=0.3 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable] [rescored 2026-09-15: curated origin-host map (PR #65); unclassified hosts no longer scored as aggregators]
Sources
- America’s Food Safety System Failed to Stop a Salmonella Epidemic. It’s Still Making People Sick. (seed:politics_and_current_events)
- https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2021/10/americas-food-safety-system-failed-stop-salmonella-epidemic-its-still-making-people-sick/186481/ (corroboration)
- https://www.opb.org/article/2021/11/29/virulent-strain-of-salmonella-spreads-through-us-food-supply/ (corroboration)
- https://thecounter.org/americas-food-safety-system-failed-stop-salmonella-epidemic-usda/ (corroboration)