As of yesterday, nine people died and 28 were inflected. (See earlier story here.) Health organizations say chicken meat is safe if cooked, but consumers have been worried regardless.
The company said earlier this month KFC same-store sales in China fell by 16% at a time when nervous consumers have shunned chicken, despite government advice that cooked meat is safe.
She added that the FSA would not allow a slaughter house to operate if it was not "following the proper procedures to ensure the meat they process is safe".
"The industry's shift away from the use of antibiotics for growth promotion at the request of the (FDA) last year should provide further reassurance that we are committed to meeting government and customer expectations and to producing meat and poultry products that are as safe as we can make them, " said spokeswoman Janet Riley.
Ms Mucklow's organisation which represents meatpackers and processors who would have had to discard or reprocess meat found to be infected under the new testing regime argued on Capitol Hill that increased microbial testing in meat could actually lead to a greater public health risk since confident consumers might relax their own safe-handling procedures at home.
Although its opponents feel irradiating meat is dangerous, "The CDC feels that the irradiation of foods is both effective and safe, " said Dr. David Satcher of the CDC.