Consumer Reports recently released a report revealing the “most contaminated” poultry plants in the U.S., based on an analysis of Salmonella testing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS).

USDA-FSIS classifies poultry plants into three categories based on the results of Salmonella test results, from best to worst:

• Category 1: Plants that have achieved 50 percent or less of the maximum allowable Salmonella-positive test results during the most recent one-year period
• Category 2: Plants that meet the maximum allowable Salmonella-positive test results during the most recent one-year period, but have some results exceeding 50 percent
• Category 3: Plants with results that exceed the maximum allowable Salmonella-positive test results during the most recent one-year period.

The majority of plants included in Consumer Reports’ “most contaminated” list have fallen under Category 3 within the last six months. Additionally, the plants listed by Consumer Reports are described in terms of the products they produce. Plants that produce “young chicken carcasses” or “young turkey carcasses” are slaughter, cleaning, and evisceration establishments; and plants that produce “chicken parts” or “comminuted chicken parts” conduct processing and preparation. Some establishments conduct all steps of poultry production, from slaughter to preparation.

The report lists more than 50 “most contaminated” poultry plants, featuring some well-known name brands like Cargill, Tyson Foods, Perdue Foods, Butterball, and H-E-B. The full list can be read here.

USDA-FSIS' Efforts to Crack Down on Salmonella in Raw Poultry

Cracking down on Salmonella in poultry has been a priority of USDA-FSIS in recent years. In July 2024, USDA-FSIS published an advance copy of its long-awaited regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry products, setting an enforceable final product standard for the pathogen at certain levels—at which point it is determined to be an “adulterant”—and focusing on five serotypes of public health significance. The framework also requires Salmonella testing and monitoring in facilities. The ultimate goal of the new regulatory framework is to reduce human cases of salmonellosis attributable to poultry products, because, although FSIS’ current Salmonella verification sampling program has been effective in reducing the proportion of poultry products contaminated with the pathogen, it has not translated into a reduction in foodborne illness.

However, as of February 2025, Republican legislators, backed by poultry lobbyists, are trying to stop USDA-FSIS’ ability to implement its proposed regulatory framework for Salmonella in raw poultry products by blocking the agency’s access to federal funds.