A Central California chicken processing plant has resumed operations after shutting down for two weeks to combat an infestation of cockroaches.
Foster Farms in Livingston said Wednesday it had called its employees back to work after ensuring all necessary measures were taken to properly clean the plant.
Inspectors for the U.S. Department of Agriculture closed the plant Jan. 8 after finding cockroaches on five separate occasions over four months. That closure came three months after inspectors threatened a shutdown because of salmonella problems at the Livingston plant and two Foster Farms sites in Fresno.
Foster Farms issued no product recalls as a result of those problems, but advised consumers to handle chicken properly and cook it thoroughly.
This all comes months after a massive salmonella outbreak that spread to at least 23 states and Puerto Rico and sickened hundreds of people, including dozens in California.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture had issued a health warning for the chicken but did not issue a recall. A spokesman for Foster Farms said the infections were caused by eating undercooked or improperly handled chicken.
An agreement made in October between the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service and Foster Farms allowed the Foster Farms plants in California, two plants in Fresno and one in Livingston to remain open, as long as they enhance food safety practices.
Some of the salmonella strains are resistant to antibiotics, with a hospitalization rate that's double the normal amount, according to the California Department of Public Health.
U.S. & World
Salmonella is a pathogen that contaminates meat during slaughter and processing, and is especially common in undercooked chicken.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
