WASHINGTON – A series of Twitter feeds will provide state-specific information about food recalls or emergency preparation alerts, according to the Food Safety Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture.

Alerts about recalls of meat, poultry and processed egg products as well as severe weather information will be available to followers of these Twitter accounts. FSIS launched the Twitter feeds on March 1 in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Other state-specific feeds will be launched during the first week of March, the agency said.

"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," said Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety. "The immediacy of information-sharing through social media is unparalleled, and we believe these timely, targeted updates will better protect public health."

The Twitter feeds available March 1 are: AK_FSISAlert (Alaska), AZ_FSISAlert (Arizona), CA_FSISAlert (California), CO_FSISAlert (Colorado), HI_FSISAlert (Hawaii), ID_FSISAlert (Idaho), NM_FSISAlert (New Mexico), NV_FSISAlert (Nevada), OR_FSISAlert (Oregon), UT_FSISAlert (Utah), and WA_FSISAlert (Washington).

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.