USDA expands meat and poultry hotline hours

by | Apr 6, 2017 | 5 Ag Stories, News

Today, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it is increasing the delivery of safe food handling and preparation information by expanding the hours of its Meat and Poultry Hotline and Ask Karen chat services.

Consumers can contact the Meat and Poultry Hotline to speak to a live food expert at 1-888-674-6854, or visit Ask Karen to chat or email (in English or Spanish), Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The toll-free hotline service assists in the prevention of foodborne illnesses by answering consumers? questions about the safe storage, handling and preparation of meat, poultry and egg products.

?Our hotline provides a valuable service in educating consumers about how to safely prepare food,? said FSIS Administrator Al Almanza. ?We are expanding our reach to allow more consumers to have their food safety questions answered.?

For 32 years the hotline has answered 3 millions calls about food manufacturer recalls, food poisoning, food safety during power outages, and the inspection of meat, poultry and egg products.