Mathematical models that estimate the proportion of foodborne illnesses attributable to food commodities at specific points in the food chain may be useful to risk managers and policy makers to formulate public health goals, prioritize interventions, and document the effectiveness of mitigations aimed at reducing illness. Using human surveillance data on laboratory-confirmed Salmonella infections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Salmonella testing data from U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service's regulatory programs, we developed a point-of-processing foodborne illness attribution model by adapting the Hald Salmonella Bayesian source attribution model. Key model outputs include estimates of the relative proportions of domestically acquired sporadic human Salmonella infections resulting from contamination of raw meat, poultry, and egg products processed in the United States from 1998 through 2003. The current model estimates the relative contribution of chicken (48%), ground beef (28%), turkey (17%), egg products (6%), intact beef (1%), and pork (<1%) across 109 Salmonella serotypes found in food commodities at point of processing. While interpretation of the attribution estimates is constrained by data inputs, the adapted model shows promise and may serve as a basis for a common approach to attribution of human salmonellosis and food safety decisionmaking in more than one country.

In the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (Farm Bill) of 2008, Congress amended the Federal Meat Inspection Act to provide that catfish be inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). As part of the development of its inspection program, the FSIS conducted an assessment of the food safety risk associated with consuming farm-raised catfish. To thoroughly identify hazards for consideration in the risk assessment, the scientific literature was surveyed for all potential agents that have been linked to illness associated with farm-raised catfish consumption. A review of microbial hazards suggested that Salmonella is the foodborne pathogen most likely to be associated with catfish, but the impact of other pathogens remains unclear. This review also summarizes the current data available on chemical residues in catfish, including pesticides and heavy metals, and any regulatory levels that have been established for these compounds. The current usage of veterinary drugs in aquaculture also is outlined, including information on unapproved usage of drugs in catfish.