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Consumers to Receive Timely Food Safety Alerts Through State Twitter Feeds
Social media will alert followers to state-specific food recalls or emergency preparation alerts
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USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
1-888-674-6854
Congressional and Public Affairs
Dirk Fillpot (202) 690-3112
WASHINGTON, March 6, 2012 - Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
launched a series of Twitter feeds that will provide state-specific, food safety alerts to consumers. Followers of these Twitter accounts
will receive alerts about recalls of meat, poultry and processed egg products in their state, as well as information on how to protect the
safety of their food during severe weather events. '
Twitter feeds for all U.S. states and territories will officially launch during the first week of March. Today, FSIS launched Twitter feeds
providing food safety alerts for residents of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas.
"These new Twitter feeds provide yet another mechanism for us to provide consumers with critical updates and relevant information they
need to protect their families from foodborne illness," USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Elisabeth Hagen said. "The
immediacy of information-sharing through social media is unparalleled, and we believe these timely, targeted updates will better protect
public health."
The FSIS state food safety alert Twitter feeds launching today are:
AR_FSISAlert (Arkansas),
KS_FSISAlert (Kansas),
LA_FSISAlert (Louisiana),
MO_FSISAlert (Missouri),
NJ_FSISAlert (New Jersey),
OK_FSISAlert (Oklahoma),
PA_FSISAlert (Pennsylvania) and
TX_FSISAlert (Texas). A list of all FSIS state food safety alert Twitter feeds is available at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/ Open_Federal_Cases/index.asp#Twitter.
Currently, recalls are announced through news releases and FSIS' primary Twitter feed,
@USDAFoodSafety which contains information to help consumers identify the recalled
product. To further enhance this notification process FSIS developed these state feeds to provide information to people directly affected
by a recall.
For more information on creating a Twitter account and accessing these state feeds, go to twitter.com. |
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Last Modified: March 6, 2012 |
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