An outbreak of salmonella in raw chicken has made nearly 300 people ill in the US, officials say as consumer advocates warned the federal shutdown was hampering a government response.
The 278 illnesses in 18 states are believed to be linked to raw chicken from three Foster Farms locations in California, according to the Food Safety Inspection Service.
The shutdown, which began October 1, has sent hundreds of thousands of federal workers home without pay, including staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration.
It is the first shutdown in 17 years and was driven by a resurgence of Republican opposition to President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law passed in 2010.
The FDA has warned it would "be unable to support the majority of its food safety, nutrition, and cosmetics activities".
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A CDC spokeswoman told AFP that six employees had been recalled to staff a network of public health labs that monitor for food-borne outbreaks, bringing the total number of employees on that project to seven.
"The shutdown has really handcuffed these regulatory agencies and their proper regulatory role," said Eric Walker, spokesman for Congresswoman Louise Slaughter.
"This is the nightmare scenario, not just with the government shutdown but this is what happens when you overuse antibiotics in livestock."
A high proportion of people have been hospitalised - 42 per cent - and some of the salmonella strains are showing resistance to antibiotics, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The consumer advocacy group also noted that seven strains of salmonella appear to be responsible for the sicknesses.
