The Trouble with Chicken (full documentary) | FRONTLINE
An investigation into the spread of dangerous pathogens in our meat - particularly poultry - and the challenges facing the food-safety system in stopping the threat. (Aired 2015)
This journalism is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station here: www.pbs.org/donate.
In FRONTLINE’s “The Trouble with Chicken,” correspondent David E. Hoffman investigates how and why the standards and laws around Salmonella have failed to keep up with the increasing danger posed by some strains of the bacteria.The film looks closely at one of the largest Salmonella poultry outbreaks on record, when chicken from Foster Farms sickened more than 600 people over 16 months. Delving into the complex world of food safety, the investigation reveals a seeming contradiction: even though hundreds of people were falling ill, Foster Farms was still meeting the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) standards for Salmonella contamination.
Love FRONTLINE? Find us on the PBS Video App, where there are more than 300 FRONTLINE documentaries available to watch any time: to.pbs.org/FLVideoApp
#Documentary #TroubleWithChicken
Subscribe on KZhead: bit.ly/1BycsJW
Instagram: / frontlinepbs
Twitter: / frontlinepbs
Facebook: / frontline
Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by the Ford Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.
Whoever is in charge of the "haunting music" department of Frontline needs a raise
I work for a national supermarket chain that has a very busy deli. We treat the chicken as if it's radioactive, and that is how I train all the employees. Always treat chicken as if it has salmonella. Temperature check every batch of chicken, several pieces not just one. But I've been a cook for most of my life and take my profession very seriously. You're dealing with the public and their trust
Your attitude is inspiring. Respect
Oooooo
Ooooooo
O
O
My grandma would always bathe her chicken in salted water and white vinegar. Never got sick.
And what about you? What do you bathe your chicken in? Vodka? 😂
@@AsifAAli no.. But let me know how it works for you!
@@cherylcooper1885 I don't drink.
I worked for a steak house with an extensive salad bar. Croutons, pumpkin seeds, and the like were kept in cabinets under the salad bar. Owner/manager told me to restock the salad bar. Opened the cabinets and found all these large cans of pumpkin seeds that didn't even have any kind of lid. Not even saran wrap. Completely wide open. I was aghast. I said to him, "don't you realize this is a huge magnet for mice?" He seemed surprised. Oh, I should mention every night the restaurant put out about 20 mouse traps, and every morning we found them filled. And the idiot didn't realize there was a connection. I quit. Restaurant closed now.
Pumpkin seeds in a salad bar? Never seen that before.
Bravo! not every facility has people like you! not to mention the Government !!!!!! !
All the mousetraps filled! mice are clever and learn to avoid. For all the traps to be filled that's some serious infestation!
incompetence is everywhere. i'm an RN. In the medical office of our facility, in the storeroom, boxes of laytex gloves were stored in the same cabinet as non-laytex gloves. i was aghast and moved them in separate cabinets as far apart as i could. sometimes u just have to wonder who the people in charge managed to get their jobs.
The laws of this country protect corporations not its citizens.
Laws that were drafted by politicians that people keep voting for every election season. Politicians are in the pocket of corporations. Get rid of the politicians and you get rid of corporations bending laws in their favor
@@TheRoadfarmer Which party hates all regulations? Trump/GOP did this.
Protect yourself. It's not the government's job, nor should anyone ever want the boobs in Washington in charge of protecting us.
They sure do!
@@marktheshark7754 To a point. Americans enjoy laws and logical regulations, it's what makes America and it's economy strong. Once you care about something other than yourself you will see it differently.
Our food is far too important to handle so lightly. My heart sinks when I think that people are being made sick or worse by greed.
Or you know... Cook chicken thoroughly 🙄
@@MiroBG359 obviously, and I agree with you, but to completely acquit companies of guilt is also wrong. They should shoulder some sort of responsibility, especially is the safety and welling being of the general public is ignored. And it’s not just chicken, vegetables also have salmonella on the surface, so you should always wash them.
which is why you should eat only REAL food.... its so simple but 90% cant figure it out... ppl are just the polar opposite of smart these days.
@@MiroBG359 Exactly! No rare or medium rare "nothing" for me, yuck!
@@jinolin9062 Wow! Thanks for that! I eat a lot of veggies, and wash them all except for iceberg lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower.
my oldest son worked for the plant in Moorefield, WV and they were not allowed to wear a mask or gloves. He became extremely ill when a piece of chicken fell off the line into his mouth. Took him to a hospital in Moorefield and told them I was worried about salmonella and insisted on testing and they did and poo poo'd it off. They said they would contact us if they found anything. One week later he had lost 50 pounds and was unable to eat. We took him to Maryland and he had caught campylobacter. They said if diagnosed fast, he could have been treated but his digestive system was already wiped out. It had to be reported to the state because it's so dangerous (the plant denied his workmens comp claim even though it happened other times). This went on to where he had to have his stomach removed. He died in 2009. You never hear of campylobacter and it's the most dangerous
So sorry for your loss. Your story breaks my heart.
😢😢 sorry for your loss. I wish that the workers sue that company
I am so sorry! And that he suffered so much. 😢😢 Why did that pos company not allow gloves and masks?
i'm so sorry u lost ur son.
Our USDA is a mess. So many dangerous products are on the shelves for decades with limited oversight or ignored.
I worked for a company that produced and maintained food service equipment for the biggest companies you can think of. The lack sanitation, and lack of quality control, and zombie employees that don't care in these plants would shock you.
does not shock
to be expected. most average men don't bother to lift the toilet seat(ring) before they pee all over it and also they do not wash their hands after.
😢
Treat your employees like their livestock and why should they care?
@@apathyguy8338 it's called personal integrity. something you have when you aren't only a reactionary type person but take pride in your work.
My 2 year old almost died from this outbreak. He was hospitalized for 3 weeks and sent home with iv medication for 2 weeks after we got home. That we had to learn to administer. It was a very scary and heartbreaking time for our family but Thank God and the wonderful doctors he is now a very healthy and active young boy that is the champion of his soccer team.
Thank God, Christopher!! ⚽️⚽️
Did you and your family stop eating chickens?
@@cherylween4973 most people get sick from vegetable recalls.
Thank GOD for you.
@@tripendicular do they really? I don't. How is that relevant anyway and I asked Christopher, not you 🤔
Don't want to get sick ! Don't shop in a grocery store , don't buy big brands , don't buy highly processed foods , oils or sugars . Try a local grower, small farms, and eat seasonal , what's available. Can and dehydrate what you can if possible. Just these basics will improve your health.
Just wash your vegetables properly and cook your meat properly. That is what you need to do. Unless it’s Nero Virus, then you can’t do anything about it, you’re screwed.
This is insane.. I worked for Nestle Purina for a while and the amount of testing which was performed on dog food was crazy… the fact that we don’t test the same for our food, more insane..
@Zoot Rollo many people pets died from the melamine scandal and untold numbers developed cardiomyopathy from the grain free pet food fad.what a callous ignorant comment.what s wrong w you...hate animals for some unfathomable reason?
I've heard some horrific stories about how that causes terminal illness in dogs. NOT a good brand at all
@@shla571 wait what? Seriously?
@@FearfulWonderful Every single brand will have a critic stating how unsafe they are. If you do enough digging, the scientist who claim each brands safeness are very likely being compensated by another, competing brand. Having worked there I can say that product safety always top of mind, and they are very strict on all GMP standards.
Smfh
I worked in a banquet facility that served a lot of chicken, I never got over how careless the owner/head chef and chef were about handling chicken and other raw meats. They would cut up whole chickens and just wipe their hands and go on to handling other foods. I ate almost nothing in that place. The owner would always get mad at me because I would really cook the chicken and wouldn't rely on just going to the desired temperature, I would go beyond, all he cared about was being able to reuse the left overs. they would pour the bloody water from the boxes in the same sink they would toss their knives in and other foods. I was the only one who would bleach the knives, tables, cutting boards, sinks and they treated me like I was the one who didn't know what I was doing. So thankful I do not work there anymore.
Wow! I absolutely believe you! I just made a comment above that for yrs soak all of my meat poultry beef and fish as well all my fish seafood...AND YES...I clean w bleach I add it to my dishwasher and clean my counter tops and stove...the entire kitchen!
Call them out by name.
@@helainamcclanahan6341 I think Banquet. I’m familiar with their frozen entrees, but I’m not sure what else they sell
You should have reported them
@@FearfulWonderful No it's a specific banquet hall, not a food brand named Banquet
Food industry, drug companies, big banks, and corporations, etc have laws that protects their best interests and not the public.
I agree completely but there is no way for the government to protect the public from the dangers of eating under cooked chicken without banning the sale of raw chicken.
Also we supposedly vote in the lawmakers when really they are lobbied in by these companies for life terms so the laws never change and the money keeps Rollin.
Exactly! The comments saying it’s ‘capitalism’ is at fault. So dumb. Corruption is at fault.
When I raised a complaint because I had gotten food poisoning from an out of date pork product bought at their supermarket they threatened to call the police and suggest I was in the act of robbing the cash desk!!!
I love PBS and "Frontline" and this particular episode is another real eye opener for me. They're so informative.
I used to be a cook back in the 1980s. We regularly got notices from the health department about increases in salmonella in the chicken. (sometimes almost 90%). We were just told to be careful of cross contamination, and ensure we cook it to the right temp. That was standard with factory farmed meat.
@dferrantiJfr 1 second ago It's not the handlers of the animals parts and kitchens. WAKE UP AMERICA the animals are being JABBED like HUMANS with CONTAMINATED TOXIC CHEMICALS.. IT'S IN ALL THE JABS AND ALL THE FOODS AND THE WATERS THAT GROW THE FOODS...IT'S NOT THE HANDLERS. IT'S THE FOOD CARTEL / WHILE THE PHARMA CARTEL IS SHARIG THE TOXINS THAT MAKE UP THE VIALS FOR THE SHOTS
GREED has no room for safety, no matter the industry....trust no company ever....it's all about the money. 💯💯💯
Money and overpopulation holding hands!
So you grow and produce all your own things? That's impressive
@@williamkreth that's funny you bring that up... I'm in Colorado and yes I have a small farm here. The food industry is literally killing us, they don't care about the quality of the products they sell, what's a health lawsuit to a billion dollar industry. They produce for profit and nothing more. Foods at the markets are total garbage. I can bet that the people in the food production industry don't eat the food they put on shelves👍💢💯
Wow!!!! I was thinking of the same thing . It's about the dollar
@@P455W0RD__JDM Agreed! I’m not a fan of the food, medical or pharmaceutical industries in this corporation we call america! It’s only about the corporate bottom line & not about protecting the people. If people get sick & die, IT’S THEIR PROBLEM! Damn the torpedoes full steam ahead!!!😠
I haven't bought Foster Farms since the early 2000s when my whole family got really sick on some chicken. It was unreal how sick we got. This documentary just reinforced that I should never buy it again!
Is it just that brand?
Proper cooking and sanitation practices KILLS all strains of salmonella. It doesn't matter what brand it is or where you get it from. ALL raw meat and fresh fruits and vegetables contain pathogens (especially organic). You have to handle food properly or it could make you sick.
@SHAR Reignn I saw experiments done with salad mix infected with salmonella. Even with repeated washings, those with salmonella still had enough to make some people sick. Better to buy whole heads and wash it yourself. With whole heads the salmonella is on the outside.
@diditgood53 Have you ever worked in food production? Almost all facilities have ongoing problems with various infestations and all have pest management programs in place. Many of the restaurants you dine at have probably had cockroaches and rat/mice infestations. There are small amounts of critters in nearly all flour, cornmeal, etc. This is simply reality in any food production facility anywhere in the country.
@diditgood53 And to you and yours as well!
the gall that this company hadn't gone the extra mile to make sure their chicken is safe and even with the smoking gun, still were standing their ground..years ago I had a pretty big piece of broken glass in a jar from Kelchner's Horseradish . I called the company and the owner himself came to my house. he was VERY concerned and of course asked for the jar back and sent me a free case ..he claimed they are not a big company and wanted to handle this himself . I didn't see the owner of foster's chicken going to visit the victim's houses
More and more I believe issues like this are due to the way we handle and process food on industrial scales.
Frontline just does it well! The narrator's voice is classic.
Will Lyman is certainly one of the best voice over actors.
@@MrMikeChain po
@@robertdobrodziej3639 do
Meh. Its bullshit. Pbs? They have ads ..
It really makes me feel like I'm about to be well informed..
Poor little guy. That broke my heart to see lil man’s expression. He was in so much pain. But he was a soldier. God bless🙏🏿
The family got 6.5mil compo still shouldn’t have happened
Your imaginary friend already "blessed" him by poisoning him.
@@randomshorts739 6.5 million because the mother didn't know how to cook chicken. Insane. Poor kid.
@@Smokr are you really that stupid cooking doesn’t kill all germs
@@Smokr Your inner need to defend a billion dollar corporation of any responsibility to have sanitary practices and prompt recalls when they know an illness has occurred is baffling, yet intriguing. Covid taught us they will literally kill their own workers, idk why it’s such a stretch to admit to their negligence. Also the grandma had it first, and she could have gotten from raw eggs, not just poorly cooked chicken. Have some empathy.
Inspectors getting paid under the table . The hell of human lives .
I worked in several restaurants and in one grocery store. The way they handled food was disgusting. All they care about is profits and speed. The market changed expiration dates on food so they could sell it beyond the sell-by dates. It’s definitely not about the consumer.
The worst place I worked was a Chinese restaurant. Absolutely disgusting. I won’t eat out anywhere any longer. Never seen anything like it before
So I can get sick from eating a legally sold chicken part, then lose my house to the medical bills.
Yes. And then the bank can count the repossession as a loss against their taxable income, then turn around and sell the house again for profit. ‘Merica And the hospital you go to when you are dying is going to be for profit Along with your health insurance, assuming you even have it
The American Dream
Probably. The Land of The Free means free to take your chances.
@@marygard4608 wait mrs. lard so your telling me, communist countries don’t have semolina and E. coli issues ?
@@brodyllc Clever. I am bested at every turn.
Narrators voice is so brilliant and intense he could read the phone book and make it sound interesting ... great work 👏 A great programme and great journalism
Yes, absolutely...I like the adjectives you used to describe his voice. On point.
As a child I always thought vegetarians were "weird" people, yet I am now a flexitarian: I eat very little meat. fish off and on, otherwise mostly veggies. The whole animal industry is beyond sick!
Same with eggs. For 10,000 years we never had to refrigerate whole uncracked eggs. Now you have to refrigerate them due to trans-ovarian transfer of bacteria from the hen to the egg yolk. Directly due to antibiotics in all the poultry feed, not just given to the sick hens. Later I raised my own chickens. Had a hard time finding antibiotic free chicken feed (and it cost more). Purina said "why would anyone want chicken feed w/o antibiotics?!
Thank you again Frontline, for always providing free and unbiased journalism.
lol geez. Frontline is hugely biased. Just not about chicken
😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆
Lol, lol, lol.....
@@raptango_na6199 Everyone to you, who don't lie and make sh!t up, by spreading lies and misinformation, not being honest with the citizens, are always to some people bias?" Hell you got politicians in office that don't think we should know where our food comes from? and will hide the truth about anything wrong and crooked!! Like making employees work in unsafe, disease and virus conditions, then hate on the people who fight for better working conditions, for employees?"
@@desireawinton9745 Frontline is part of PBS, which is part of the Democrat Party media establishment. They might tell the truth about some things but if the subject moves to politics they might as well be mslsd
It's fascinating and disgusting in equal measure watching this as an European, especially a nordic. We have 0 tolerance for *any* salmonella. It's EU-news when it's found. You can sell chickens without having such subpar standards that are cruel towards the poultry and the consumers.
Look. Letting the occasional disease outbreak happen makes the shareholders that own our meat Industry slightly richer. So it's a risk they are willing to subject the rabble to.
America is a just a terrible country.
@@ij2426 It's a global imperial empire actually.
Europe’s success comes from mixing capitalism with other systems. Unlike Merica which goes hard core capitalism like it’s a cult.
Bombs away!🤣
I am 64 years old, The first meat I ever ate was chicken! I received a poultry award in high school agriculture! Chicken must be cooked and handled properly to prevent salmonella poison! Been that way all my life!
This helps me with my fruit fast tremendously
Imagine if all news stories were as through and unbias as these PBS Frontline documentaries are. We love good journalism.
The problem is the US government rolled back the very laws that were supposed to protect against the media becoming the corporate outrage machine it has become.
As a food inspector I will disregard your comment.
@@JamesJackson-dq2tj why is that good sir?
Right wing media has conspiracy theory journalism, not investigative journalism.
We can dream ❤
@19:10 It takes a lot of courage as a VP to admit to wrongdoing publicly. Mike Robach is a true stand up guy. Making the right call to recall all that meat was probably the hardest thing he had to do and was massively unfavorable by his board. But he did it and we should thank him. Also, staying strong and admitting fault to Frontline, more executives should follow his lead. Props to Mike and thank you for making the right call…
Miss Americans like that ...
Fuck that. He was forced by stake holders to take action or lose stock funding. That's it. Pure money moves- you can sugar that bullshit all you want tho, sonny boy.
Praising a company for Issuing a recall is like praising a drunk driver who apologizes after killing someone in a crash. It’s too little too late. If they actually cared and wanted to address the issue they’d address it before the product hits the shelf.
No it doesn't. Cargill is a private corporation. The man literally will face no consequences for this.
Amazing, he's one in a million.
Even,here in Ghana, I was happy when the source was Discovered.
Jack in the Box was only cooking their burgers to 155F. I know this because an employee friend of mine and I were talking about our jobs, I was trainer at McDonald's, and she worked at Jack in the Box. I told her 155F degrees was to low at temperature, and the burgers had to be cooked higher. And her response was, she was just following her manager' s direction and the Heath department in Seattle rarely visited her store.
From meat to milk, the food industry is so disgusting 😫
it's abhorrent
Agreed. Combined with how ignorant people are regarding safe cooking practices at home it’s a dangerous mix. I learned how to properly sanitize a sink while working at Hardee’s in the 90’s. I only know of one other person who does the three step process on my kitchen sink. She also has restaurant work in her background.
still no interest to promote eating less animals though
@@karenabrams8986 They’ve got people to overly sanitizing their counters and hands and this sanitizing is a new disease in the making. Sanitizers make people sick. The only alcohol I use is the one that’s in wine... all the other stuff is poison.
I’ve been using bar keepers friend since the 90’s. I’m probably very behind on my sanitizers. We’re working on cutting back on eating meat. Been doing back yard farm ville growing onions and potatoes with the kids, not wasting stuff. It’s taken some creative budgeting to make it work. Meat and produce are both so expensive. I can’t believe we’re the only ones trying to figure out ways to stop bleeding money in groceries with multiple strategies. I’ve even got a dandelion patch for fresh arugula when I need it.
The power of the industry's lobbyists should never be underestimated.
Wow! I'm so glad Noah made it through, as did his loving parents. Kudos to the physicians, nurses, lab techs, MRI techs, health care professionals who walked Noah through the valley of the darkness of Salmonella H. Blessings to everyone - Public Health MDs, FDA, even Foster Farms... chicken is my fave meat.
I don’t understand how the kid could get sick if the chicken was cooked throughly.
@@iseeflowers The bacteria can spread through contact - the chicken was thoroughly cooked but someone touched it raw then touched a counter and the person who packaged the meal touched that counter prior to packaging the meal. The same applies to a home environment, btw. Important: *never* wash your meat before preparing it because that's how you spread bacteria all over your kitchen.
Its interesting how the whole documentary is only about the poultrys journey starting in the slaughter house. Salmonella and its antibiotic strains dont just apear in the slaughter house, they are brought there with the chickens.
I was hospitalized with salmonella when I was in my early 20s. I couldn't stop vomiting and then I passed out. When I woke up I was in an ambulance. Fortunately, everything turned out ok.
What had you eaten? Can you identify the source?
So glad I am vegan. I haven’t eaten meat for 12 years and am very happy!
Plants carry pathogens too! Harmful germs found on leafy greens include norovirus, Salmonella, Listeria, and Cyclospora.
@@hojo70 yes they do. You just have to be meticulous when cleaning your fruits and veggies. Nothing more nothing less.
me too!
I'm sure other facilities had that bacterial problem but they focus mainly on Foster farms. They should check all the poultry plants
Yeah, I find it unfair that they concentrate on one company.
I am grateful for PBS and Frontline. We are blessed to get this free for many years. The narrators voice represents truth to me.
Instant click. Love these frontline documentaries
Let's go Brandon
@@errolkim1334 I believe you're looking for 4 chan. This is "fake news" apparently so go back to your echo chamber pls
@@ThatBlueFalcon Let’s go Brandon!!!
@@kovy689 Ok boomer.
@@ThatBlueFalcon Let’s go Brandon!!!
As a cook by trade.... salmonella isn't the type of bacteria when cooking I worry about... because if you know how to properly handle food.. ie don't let any cooked meat come into contact with surfaces or utensils that have come into contact with the uncooked meat prior to cooking ... and as bacteria doubles every 20 mins in ideal conditions ... do not leave any raw or cooked meats out for hours under temperate conditions ie food warmers on a warm bench .. as the bacterial count will be massive 2 to six hours later .. you can just cook it out.. the salmonella from meats ...just make sure the meat is at least 70 degrees Celcius all the way through internally..just make sure you cook the shit out of it :) ..!!. and it will not make you sick.. even if uncooked meats ie pork chicken have it on them..? which 25 to 30 percent of meats do .. I'm way more wary of the bacterial stafloccous aurus in wounds that get into food from a chef's infected finger he's cut or Clostridium perfingents in canned or preserved foods that don't need oxygen to multiply that truly give me nightmares 😢
I got Salmonella from a McDinalds chicken Sandwich in Fairbanks, Alaska. Withon a couple of hours of eating it, ( plain , just chicken & bun) I was more violently ill than any " Gastroenteritis". AKA as " stomach flu" than any Id EVER been in my life. The person with me, ate something else ( Fish) and never got sick at all. No one else in the house got sick with anything. I was so weak and sick for days that I had to re- schedule my flight home, costing me about $500 more than my round trip ticket , because I was too dehydrated, and weak to travel out the front door, let alone fly back home. I had nit eaten in a McDonalds for over 30 years before that, because prior whenever I did, I would have an upset stomach for a day or two afterward. It didnt take me long to learn to be VERY careful about eating out ANYWHERE. I live in a small town, rural area in Kansas. " Growing you own" in both meat & vegetables is very common here. True " Free Range" chickens do not have all that fat, and are not processed the way those huge chickens in the store are. Same with buying a steer once a year. You know what you put into them.
I took a tour of a chicken processing plant in 1986 threw my school food services program. The plant mangers said 1% of the birds come into this plant with Slamonella and 99.9 percent leave with it. AS meat cutting birds is on a asssembling line. They do not clean their knives between birds.
This "frog" who narrates all the FRONTLINE episodes is a hell of a narrator. A very distinct, personable, and clear PINOCCHIO voice. His intonation -though slightly 'gruff' and of a lower 'octave' is also superb. He doesn't mutter, he doesn't spit, he doesn't stumble. In his own PINOCCHIO peculiar way, he always makes FRONTLINE episodes more interesting than they would otherwise be...
I'm not sure what the hell you are saying, but i'll take you're word for it.
I love his voice His voice is serious, seemingly very direct and succinct. Fantastic narrator!
@@ooooowwussthaataseloik2866 Agree. Pinocchio way?? Pinocchio didn't speak in the Disney movie....wth...?? His voice is smooth, kind of husky, just great.
Frog?.. Pinocchio?.. What the hell are you talking about?
What drugs did you take before typing this out ?
What about the cruelty of forcing chickens into existence inside overcrowded wire prisons when they are such intellgent and curious birds with personalities, memories and ability to recognise faces, their names and some commands?
I am a former vegetarian/Vegan (3- urays ago). Being born (Birth) is not an act of cruelty. Birth Cruelty is an opinion held by some. It is not a fact. A Chicken lays an egg, Is that an act of cruelty in your opinion or could it be an act of Natural Law or Devine Law (Intelligent Design). Which ever. It is as natural as boy meets girl, puberty and the next generation. A human mother may give her/a baby suck Are you also likly to try to say that the act of maternal breast feeding is an act of force and therefore an act of crulety? There are also a number of ways to interpret protected enviornment. Prison is your choice or opinion and like wise not fact. I live in a country with frozen freezing frosts and long dark wintery nights which in fact kill some animals and force (Volentary migration) many winged birds to migrate or they may die due to lack of food (Fewer bugs, worms and berrys). In that sense you could say the world is a cruel place. But with in that potential life threathening harsh climate man/woman has fire which can make the environment hospitable. So playing the young in to a protected environment is not it self an act of cruelty but an act of necessessity or an act of loving or security. A young chick would be prey to other predatory animals and birds (Cats, dogs, wolves, foxes, seagulls etc) if not in a protective enclosure. A mere fence is not going to keep out winged predators. You may be surprised at the shear size of our roof top grave yards where the seagulls take their hundreds of hunted pigeons for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So a roof covering is essential to keep the winged predators our for the chicks to survive to their teenage years. Then again a flock of tasty teenchicks would not survive long where ever foxes and wolves roam. Bears too would likly eat Chickens. So whilst you may want to refer to a protective enclosure as a Prison others use the more humane labels such as security fence, protected environment. A human baby's incubator or cot (crib) could be said to resemble a prison. But the true nature of the cot with it's high rise struts is to keep the baby safe from accidents or many of the potentially dangerouse gadgets or machines in modern homes. If an infant baby had any objections or qualms about his cot in those first early years. Or some how perceived his cot as a preson and could voice his/her object then he/she would most likly have reached an age where he/she could be instructed about the dangers. He/she could also be told that living in a cot is only a temporary environment and therefore not a life sentence or permanant inexcapeable jail as he/she would soon be moved out in to a larger bed most likly more befitting his/her size and mentality. In your supposed idellistic world where chicks are born free and run around chirping where ever they please. They would most likly be torn to pieces and when young their bones may be eatten or swallowed whole. Your human babies crawling about the 5 floor flat in summer may find the balconey and find it's way under or between the protective railings, it may find a box of matches and set the whole room of fire. Or the kitchen knives, electric sockets or the usually amiable guard dog is not so amiable when repeatedly annoyed by a free raoming baby. Sorry. But my opinion is that domesticated protected animals would just not exist if not provided for. 20 or a hundred chirping chicks all in one incubator or large washing machine box is not cruel when it is warm and protected. The cruel environment is out side. Cruel with it's predatorial speices, motor cars which could squish the chick trying to cross the road or cruel in freezing winter storms and weeks and weeks of rains, floods and howling winds. Okay the survivors end up on a plate. But als history tells us that everybody dies, including the humans. As with cats and dogs the chicken has a shorter natural life expectancy. So they would be dead after a few years eitherway. Just as most humans will not be alive by age ninety when maybe as few as 1% is still alive. We then become food for mother earth or the crematory fire (an assent to the heavens). But in our protected environments we generally live longer lives. You can call your own protected home a prison. It is your choice. But even a chick in the wild may when reaching motherhood build a nest to protect it's young ( Vegetarian view; Prison to force obediance to the slave masters). In your young youthfull years were you not also raised in a protective environment? Or were you just a mere prisoner later on sent to forced indoctrination labour camps/Prisons/Gulags?
@@MikeGreenwood51 I sent you a video of what happen in farms. You were NEVER vegan, just plant based dieter. Those who are vegan for the animals, that is for Ethical reasons, do not become "ex vegans". Only those who go plant based for health or religious reasons can change.
It's the same stream of doubt as the tobacco industry did with the nitrates.
I'm grateful and appreciative for PBS! I've been watching your programming, for more years than I care to count, lol, about every imaginable topic. Definitely a blessing to everyone who views your content! Thank you and continued success going forward!
Huge difference in the news that makes billions a year just lying and using no bit of investigation, VS Frontline that has no 15 commercials in your face while we are being attacked by Russia and China cause our votes and taxes need war with all countries. Example > Front line spends over a million dollars for 1 subject on investigation . All other news stations use under 500 dollars for 1 subject and will be bias 100%
You mean the same PBS that kept their mouth shut when they knew about Epstein?
And eat your chicken! 😁
Very insightful & good programming
@@CordeliaWagner I think about this episode everytime I walk by the hot foods section of my local Acme or Shoprite. 👀😳
People got sick and some died, but no public announcement about foster farms chicken being deadly. The corporations are too powerfull and we need to change this. No mega farms! Use our voices.
breeding ground for the next pandemic
Raise your own.
The chicken is only deadly if you fail to thoroughly cook your meat and sanitize the cutting boards and knives used to chop the raw meat. This is simple food safety handling techniques that used to be "common sense" back in the days before refridgeration.
Tyson now newest problem.
THE AUTHORITY OF THE STORE OWNER TO RECALL IS JUST AS REAL AS THE MANUFACTURER. THE STORES COULD RECOVER FROM A RECALL BY TALKING TO THE MANUFACTURER AND REQUIRING A REFUND FOR THE HARMFUL CHICKEN.
What a mess the food supply is in sometimes. Causing death.
Thirty plus years ago, I completed a public health rotation for completion of my BSN. The public health nurse told me that all American chicken was contaminated with salmonella. That stuck with me. I never looked at chicken the same way
LOL bacteria are ubiquitous. It's not just chicken.
@@shaunbarnett2972 yes but birds shit and piss out of the same hole... the cloaca.when slaughtered this liquidy excrement splatters EVERYWHERE ..that is why they dip the carcasses in a vat of chlorine.industrially produced chicken is really a disgusting product! I too never looked at chicken the same way after my public health courses.yikes!I doubt the industry wants to publicize this to the average consumer.
Just cook it properly. It's not that complicated. Most people do not know how to cook.
@@edwardschlosser1, you can still get sick with Salmonella even if it's cooked properly
It is. I cant believe people do not know this. Turtles also can carry it. It always has been. I was taught about it as a young child. This is nothing new. Its about cooking it well and cleanliness. And never handle raw chicken without rubber gloves. It can get into a cut in the hand and you can lose the hand. Bleach water will sterilize your cutting boards.
The thing that bothered me more than anything is this: I worked in refrigeration, particularly grocery store cases. In those cases shown the case has a load sticker on the sides of the case. This means you DO NOT PUT PRODUCT above the angle of the sticker because the refrigerated air can't cool the product. One thing that is a problem is it is a sticker, it wears off during cleaning, and different shelves can be added that allow disruption of the air curtain, worse, packaging placed atop the air vents kills off the airflow entirely.
My daughter almost died from salmonella when she was 2. She's now 32 but has had life long issues with her kidneys.
It's people's life stories that remind me we are only alive and healthy purely by God's grace.
@@marvinmahehu1848 what??????
Im sorry to hear that. I hope she stays well.
Go vegetarian people
@@designerama1099 ..You'll never wash vegetables enough. Lol Have you ever watched what goes on in a commercial field? 😅😆
Foster Farms must have great lawyers and an amoral corporate code of conduct. Yikes.
and Benjamin's under the table. that's why they never had to do a single recall and FSIS needed a ridiculous amount of "proof" to request a recall when it was "in the face" obvious what caused hundreds of these people sick.
Won't be eating any more of that Brand. 🤢
Companies that large don't have one lawyer, they have an army of laywers.
Treat others like you like to be treated ✨️ 💯 💛 👌 😌 🙂
Love fronline,always have, top notch producers, and so accurate, and eye opening, all Americans should watch!!!
Foster Farms agrees to "LESSEN" the amount of Salmonella in their factory: how about "NO SALMONELLA PERIOD"?
Probably impossible unless you want all your food irradiated.
Please more food documentaries. So educational to watch.
Education on food safety in preparation , our young folks need this help ,
@@Lamplighter4712 Yes!! More than ever we need to take a deep look into the laws that harm us, when are meant to protect. It sucks to see just how little power the State has over these industries, and because of lobbying. The State allowed for these companies to have so much power, and now they don't know what to do. They don't want to change the laws because then it would put the lives of people who go up against one of these companies such as Foster Farms in actual danger. The entire scenario is flawed and needs to be revised and reestablished with new, proper and respectful laws
@@lirialeal4073 here is what I do know about salmonella , it is natural to chicken flora and , those that work around chickens often become immune naturally , if you notice there was a high count of salmonella in most of those packages of chicken and yet few people got sick . Celantro, Kumbacha cure salmonella , a healthy gut biome will kill it . Fermented foods , keep the gut healthy . Also the fact that most women are working unable to breastfeed , is a contributor to many health problems children are having . But most infections are caused by a failure in immunity . These viruses and bacteria are all around us . I suspect we will see many attacks on farmers raising meat , As the forced vegan agenda rolls out. This will be another issue , people need lots of sunlight to process DHA protein and vitamin D , both essential for the health of the nervous system and health of the immune system . Most diseases are caused by a failure in the immune system. People living 33° north or south of the equator do not get enough sunlight to produce vitamin d and DHA , they have to have meat. .
@@lirialeal4073 again simply washing and rubbing with salt and being sure meats are fully cooked . Noticed the rest of the family ate this chicken and yet only the baby got sick . There were most likely immunity issues
@@Lamplighter4712 yes, for sure most of bacteria and germs our immune system can handle. Im a human health student, and as one, I know that it is unacceptable to have such large levels of this specific salmonella they talk about, one that can lead to a worldwide outbreak. One thing is to be way to "clean" about things, which can actually do the opposite of what we think. We need germs to exist so we can as well, and we need to face them so our cells know who they are. But the fact is that, even tho our body can handle, the industry needs to pay more attention and respect to human and society needs. Its not the consumer's fault if the meat is contaminated, rigorous policy's need to be installed. We are now facing a somewhat pandemic of super bacterias all over the world, and its getting worse as people need more and more antibiotics. If less people get sick, less people will need the meds, therefore we have less bacteria that are an actual danger to us. See the logic? This is why this specific salmonella is unacceptable
I recently discovered I had a parasite that isn’t common. I live in the US and cook all my food throughly. I am very hygienic. Things like this make me question the source. I found you can get it from beef, chicken, pork-I don’t eat, any meat really. It sickens me. I have been sick for months and my family. Had a not discovered it, it could’ve killed us. I’m anemic, weak, joint pain, gastric issues, vision changes, hair loss and so much more. My kids having it could really be bad if we hadn’t found it. The USDA is pathetic and they don’t care about us at all. The care about the kick backs.
How did you figure it out? Which parasite? I have same symptoms and have been wondering if it could be parasites.
Which parasite?
Parasites eggs can be in soil for years. But you don't have to worry about it if you know herbs that can cure you for instance wormwood (against worms) and for pain you need Aconictum L herb (I would be distrustful towards painkillers some doctors prescribe they can cause addiction there has recently been a plague of victims of fentanyl coz it is hard to estimate dose that isn't very risky for health). Of course just to make sure I would contact a specjalist who knows how to combine herbs don't mix on your own.
@@dvalencia124 I had a stool sample done by my doctor. He was able to tell me, plus it was very obvious by the stool.
@@karolinakuc4783 There weren’t any pain killers at all. Just the anti parasitic medication. I did try natural first for a few months and it didn’t do anything. Sometimes you need a doctors and pharmacies help.
American laws be like: "All people are equal. But corporations are more equal than people"
Conversely, the question could be asked: Do you want to eat? Or do you want to starve (or become a vegan/ vegetarian)?
@@Sovereign_Citizen_LEOvegan.
@@denisemeans2024 - Well in some ways it could be argued that it's healthier (or potentially so) with less risk of meat bourne pathogens/ parasites/ bad bacteria. But humans are a species today because of meat, so aparently we have been able to adapt and gain the nutrition (and protein) we need as a result.
My mother taught me to treat all raw meat as contaminated and dangerous. Carefully open the package and place in the pan it will cook in; carefully dispose of packaging; immediately wash hands in hot, soapy water; clean up any drips with a disinfectant wipe; if needed, wash hands AGAIN; cook the living daylights out of said meat; treat utensils used to turn meat as also contaminated. Thank you, Mom; my family very rarely suffers from food poisoning.
I learned to do it in the sink in a bowl to defrost it and bleach everything immediately after discarding all the chicken waste. Always been scared of raw chicken
You left out .... open the package and WASH IT (or even blanch it in boiling water) ... THEN place in the pan.
I wonder why we eat chicken 🐔 if it's so contaminated. We carefully go through the process of washing hands counters & utensils or even washing chicken. Can't imagine running water on a chicken in sink does much? Maybe soak chicken in bleach 🤔 bathing chicken in acidic water 💧 stupid. They use wrong standard to test birds in these plants. USDA never used good standard.
This horrific industry should end. Not just chickens, pigs, cows, ete. This is not about feeding the masses. How this can be a surprise to anyone is a huge problem.
Question is if you cook till it's 165 would it kill this bacteria.?
It's sad. It's all about money. This clearly shows the government really doesn't care about us. Thank you for the honest, ethical company that did recall their meats. Praise God 👏
I NEVER EAT 🐔 CHCKEN BECAUSE YEARS AGO I GOT REAL SICK AND DIIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS UNTIL NOW...THANKS FOR YOU HAVING THIS SHOW .. I would say that if FOSTER FARMS doesn't do anything to prevent salminela...just don't go buy any chicken...like me!!!
@28:29 It was a relief to see this happy healthy kid in the interview. I kept waiting for the "and that's when he passed".
Props to the companies that stood up for what is right and willfully tried to correct anything they could like Cargill. Foster farms fighting against everyone just shows they are being shady
Cargill has a massive lobby arm that makes sure they are never punished when this stuff happens.
Exactly
and using cheap foreign labor for processing, too
Thank you for posting this is an informative excellent program.
I have so much respect for companies like Cargill who participate in the process, are transparent, and work to be better.
People who raise chickens are responsible for the bed bug resurgence. Birds are the natural carriers of bedbugs. My grandmother required everyone who spent time in the chicken house to strip outside and shower before coming inside to keep bedbugs out. Recently several neighbors found bedbugs in their homes all had someone in the home that worked in chicken houses.
Lice too.
I think you're speaking of lice and not actual bed bugs. Bird lice is common, people who have lots of pigeons living around their home or apartment can get an infestation of lice. They to can infect the beds, clothes , furniture.
People only raise chickens because other people want to eat chickens and their eggs
mites too.
I really was unaware of the extent to how unmodern these safety standards are... with all this tech, this could be easily a thing of the past.
Oh eating meat soon will be a " thing of the past " Its all part of the climate change agenda ! Go watch SOILENT GREEN because that's the future for us little ppl. Only the " elites " will be allowed to eat meat in the not so distant future ! When a storm comes , have the federal division of cities municipalities shut off the sewer & drainage systems. Even reverse them ! Flooding entire cities Start fires 🔥 call them wild Cop26 = a plan to make everyone a firm believer in a climate emergency !! Climate lockdown next ! These ppl deny God made this earth sustainable enough for all of us. They say he's flawed in his design. Oh wait , he doesn't exist at all. They're the saviors ! You'll 👀 💯
@Josh Fog yes called cooking 🍳
Well well. Only 20 hrs ago I said climate Lock downs are coming and that gov is intentionally flooding cities to bring this about & behold , India today , the first country in the world to do just that !! Get ready because its coming to a town near you. As long as the ppl keep putting up with this & going along with it , it will NEVER stop & only increase to the point communism will become all too powerful to stop
They don't want to put money towards paying/buying anything when the companies think it's all good cause it's worked for x years "without problems". Sheesh.
I would be more worried about the trisodium phosfate in children's cereal than chicken !💯 My kids are educated to read ingredients on goods before buying & if you don't know the word , Google
This country puts money over ppl. EVERY SINGLE TIME.. Kudos to Frontline for keeping these companies feet to the fire.
They say not to wash your chicken before cooking but we were raised to rinse first then soak in salt water or sodium bicarbonate. It probably doesn't decrease the bacteria as much as we hope but definitely helps. Then we just bleach the sink or any utensils used. The chicken definitely looks cleaner and brighter once cleaned in this manner.
I nearly died from an ESBL toxic infection after eating chicken. That was 10 years ago. To this day, I can't eat chicken. My digestive system totally rejects it. And, the antibiotics I endured for 3 months afterwards drained me.
💀
I fed raw chicken to my dog. The poor old thing pooped like a fire hose for the rest of her life. Nothing the vets could do for her, even elimination diets. The misery of cleaning the back yard up after her for 3 years was enough to never ever feed chicken to a dog again. Ever.
@@cincin4515why would you give you dog raw chicken?
Respect to Cargill for even showing up on camera
And for going above what’s “legally required” of them to do with recall, and fixing the problem.
The first sighting of the very rare species The Stand Up Guy, Corporatia Humania.
And major disrespect to Foster Farms and the other meat processors who wouldn't allow PBS to film their facilities or provide interviews.
@@Jspackman "Legally required" doesn't matter when they spend millions every year to make those "legal requirements" as worthless as possible.
All your meat is full of hormones and your grain is full of chemicals. Don't you ever wonder why Americans have the shortest lifespan in the G20?
PBS Frontline really does a great job getting to the truth. Thank you. Great informative video. 👍
Very informative... thank you
Dude. Cargill. 👏👏👏👏👏👏 THAT is how you make a mistake as a business, admit to negligence, correct the problems, and welcome back the press for tours. I’ll be damned if that isn’t absolutely everything I think we as consumers could hope for from a corporation. Good for you V.P., that’s what integrity looks like kids lol. Cargill +respect
I'm a survivor of Ecoli poisoning contracted from a salad that I bought and ate at 10 PM one night from a Wendy's restaurant back in early 1992. It damn near killed me. I did not seek medical attention. I rode it out for a couple of days and I was fine. I was young and dumb. I should have seemed medical attention so that it could have been traced back to the restaurant, and the public made aware. Perhaps I could have been awarded a aettlement.
It's really scary to eat out at any restaurant today and I never eat rare bloody meat, I'm well done always.
on a beef steak, only the outside is possibly contaminated. so as long as the outside has been seared, it is safe to eat rare. hamburger, on the other hand, is all surface meat and absolutely should be well done.
Thank you, you have convinced me to stop eating all meat all together!
I agree. The Seventh Day Adventists offer good advice on how to avoid meat but still be well nourished.
all your fruit and veg are sprayed with chemicals
This all just makes me so grateful that my family can produce our own meat and eggs. A lot of these illnesses are due to overuse of antibiotics in chickens owing to the absolutely terrible conditions those animals are subjected to. My birds are clean and healthy and I process the birds so I know they're handled correctly.
@Radhaun, I agree, it is lucky that your family can produce your own meat and eggs. You definitely have more control. I would be fascinated to see what testing would show on your products.
Absolutely the way to go. You know that you can trust, how you prepare your own food.
I know a guy that worked at Tyson briefly and he walked out because of how cruel they are to the chickens. He said forklifts would run over the ones that got loose and we're walking around and guys would take several by their feet and pitch them like horseshoes into a hopper where they began processing. He walked out when he was asked to cover for a guy and saw what he had to do. He ha to feed dead chickens into a machine that shot super heated steam on them to make the feathers come off easy. The only problem was most of the chickens were still alive. A guy fed some in he turned around and left. His exact words were "I would never have thought a chicken could scream. I can still hear it in my head. I've never ate chicken since."
I do the same. I have 400 meat bird chicks on order for 2022. I do not charge for my birds. People just donate what they can. Some people come help me process and I pay them with chickens. Some people donate beyond market price knowing I help people in need.
what is the time and money commitment to feed a family of 4 and a 30lb dog? looking at chickens of pheasants
I used to work for Perdue chicken in Lewiston NC let's just say I'll never eat chicken again unless I raise it myself
That's what they say on their chicken commercial. When better chickens are raised, we will raise them.
:( I am not religious but we lost God long ago. How dare we treat animals the way we do when we ourselves are animals. I would go vegetarian overnight to boycott if I hadn't already done that and became anemic.. Maybe I'll try again and do it better this time. Pescatarian
@@raaaaaaarr Ikr.... I'm not religious either, I didn't say I didn't believe in God. We treat animals and unwanted unborn babies like they are trash. It makes me wonder, who are the animals.
@@raaaaaaarr All animals are gods creatures and all of them are treated horribly in the agriculture industry. Dairy cows are probably treated the worse.. They're raped & repeatedly have their babies stolen or killed, before being slaughtered. Fish are treated terribly too, not to mention all the other poor creatures they capture in the nets. There's tons of factors that can cause anemia. For one, dairy inhibits iron absorption, while vitamin c can increase absorption. There's more but you can do your own research if you want. I was anemic for many, many years. Within a month of going whole foods plant based, my iron levels (as well as everything else) has been perfect ever since. Just sharing in hopes my experience can help someone else. Being anemic was the worst. Best of luck to you!
@@alliecatarts I'm so happy to read from people who understand! Such a relief instead of the, 'stfu I like meat' days. Thanks for the info
Great work guys and gals...
I love watching these series.
Good for Cargill for agreeing to be interviewed. By admitting a mistake, they've probably gained a lot more consumers.
Yeah it's when these companies cover this stuff up that makes me the most nervous.
Agreed. If a company trusts itself enough to speak on camera and be open to inspection, its a good start. Doesnt guarentee anything but is certainly a show of good faith
I don’t live there, but if I did, after watching this I would be more inclined to buy Cargill chicken. And I would never buy Foster Farms again. If I was planning to have chicken and Foster Farms was the only option, I’d get a different protein and replan my meal. I’m sure many others would do the same. Good decision by Cargill, bad decision by Foster Farms.
@@moniquem783 you could say Foster Farms has done nothing but Foster distrust
@@albinoorca lol, indeed!
This is why I don´t eat chicken or beef anymore.
Informative documentary
Just... cook your food properly? Not to take responsibility for providing safe food away from corporations - they should be punished heavily for food unsafe practices. Also, amazing work from other corporations having the appropriate tracking technology to identify the source.
I can’t believe it takes this much runaround and hard evidence to get a damn company to do a recall. That’s so alarming. So basically if a product is ever recalled, it’s not just to be safe rather than sorry, it basically means things have gotten so bad that it’s unbelievable. Wow. From now on, i will always split my packages of frozen chicken, cooking half, then refreezing the other half. I’ll cook the second half once I know the first half was safe. If I get sick from the first half, at least I have the “smoking gun” evidence on ice. This is so horrible. Food poisoning is the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my life, and when I had it, it was just from tinned jalapeños that were kind of “off”. I can’t imagine what salmonella poisoning feels like!
Thats a good plan
Need 9 million studies PROVING over and over nothing but beneficial results with everything that's illegal drug wise shrooms CURE ALMOST ALL MENTAL HEALTH DEALING WITH ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, ANOREXIA AND PROBABLY HUNDREDS MORE, MARIJUANA, MDMA CURES PTSD AND THESE WERE DONE WITH MICRO DOSING WITH PROFESSIONAL THERAPY... CURED 80 AMERICAN VETERANS BUT GOVERNMENT WON'T PROVIDE FUNDING
Just stop eating it at all. Even having the packages in your home will contaminate it.
My friend Sally is a molecular microbiologist, and researched for the country's poultry producer board better methods to reduce salmonella during slaughter and processing. Much centered around isolating the gut from edible parts to prevent fecal contamination I believe. She said she'd never eat chicken again.
Sally makin that money 😮💨
this makes me wonder how many other products cause sickness, Thank you for your time on this investigation...Love to all ❣
i live in germany and i heard of one case of salmonella among my peers in my 37 yrs here.
Makes vegetarian/vegan diet more attractive. Obviously, the risk for salmonella isn't reduced to zero, but way less than chicken consumption.
Yeah just remind me what kinds of animal feces do they use growing veggies??? 🤔
Unless cooked properly and in sanitary kitchen.
I enjoy watching documentaries like this so much!!! So informative and eye-opening!!!
Yea it's against the law to tell the truth in Scamerica soo,, enjoy it while you can.
Are you in Athens Georgia?
I almost lost my 1 year old son, to chicken at a ball game, and he had green diareha, hospital workers did not want to enter the room, we spent a week with him, caring for him to save his life in shifts. This stuff is SERIOUS and I did not understand it at the time. Summer 2005, check.