Tracking Salmonella Using Postmarks

I am sure many of you are aware that you can actually mail some forms of animals, though not like in the picture above. But did you know that they are now piloting a program that helps cut down the amount of time between a salmonella outbreak and finding the origin of the outbreak simply by looking at a postal label? Pretty neat huh?

The problem with the way hatcheries have been mailing chicks in the past is that they drop ship them. Meaning the labels that are typically affixed do not actually contain the right information about where and when that particular set of chicks was shipped off. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has been running a new set of procedures. They have been testing the bedding and lining of boxes and taking detailed pictures of the postmarks on each box. The postmarks on the packaging allow them to efficiently trace those boxes back to the hatchery of origin and allow for the MDHHS to find the source of an outbreak quicker. This allows them to contact that hatchery and it gives farmers increased time to take action and therefore mean less people get sick as a result.

Who would have thought that something as simple as a postmark could save lives. If you want to read the original article about this process you can find it here.