Mike Pearson takes a look at what the Trump administration can or should be doing to battle foodborne illness in the USA.

As the new administration gets ready to staff key positions at the USDA, the Government Accountability Office or GAO has released a report on how the positions should be staffed.

The report highlights gaps in pathogen control efforts and urges immediate action to protect consumers.

The report centers on foodborne illness in beef, pork and poultry and finding ways to control it.

Salmonella and Campylobacter are the two biggest common causes of foodborne illness in the USA.

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service or FISIS has made progress on addressing Salmonella in raw poultry.

However, work on Salmonella in pork and beef or Campylobacter in poultry has been paused-- some of the work has been in a pause since 2019.

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) APHIS handles the farms and feed lots.

The report contends contamination often starts before animal hits the processing stage often in feedlots or farms.

It goes on to explain that APHIS and FSIS lack a plan of coordination and the report doesn't explain who is responsible for pathogens on farms.

Farm Progress America is a daily look at key issues in agriculture. It is produced and presented by Mike Pearson, farm broadcaster and host of This Week in Agribusiness.

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