I’ve always been partial to shades of gray, possibly because we didn’t get a color TV until I was almost 9 years old. That’s when I discovered that the black, white and gray stripes on the test pattern were in living color.

As seductive as those colors were, my fascination with black and white, and the infinite number of shades of gray between them, continues to this day. And I’m not talking about the 50 shades made infamous in recent years. Didn’t read the book. Didn’t see the movie. Probably won’t.

Most of the time grays are mislabeled or left out in descriptions of movies and photographs. “Casablanca” is in “black and white,” but it wouldn’t be anything without the gray tones in the background of Rick’s bar. The majority of people refer to the “black and white” photos of Ansel Adams, but he would have been the first to point to the importance of the shades in between those two extremes.

All that being said, I can’t deny my ongoing love affair with the high contrast players at the opposite ends of the gray scale, especially when it comes to stuff like food companies poisoning people. For me, that’s one of those black and white areas, which brings me to an announcement this past week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC says the Salmonella Infantis outbreak traced to raw chicken that sickened people in 32 states, killing one, was over as of Feb. 19. The outbreak had a hospitalization rate of 29 percent, which is higher than usual. The outbreak strain was confirmed resistant to a variety of antibiotics, which complicated treatment and recovery for patients.

Of the people who completed interviews with outbreak investigators, 87 percent reported “preparing or eating chicken products that were purchased raw, including ground chicken, chicken pieces, and whole chicken” in the days before becoming sick. Lab tests confirmed 129 people were infected during the year-long outbreak. Considering the length of the outbreak and the widespread nature of the contamination, hundreds of other people were no doubt infected.

Lab tests also confirmed the outbreak strain of Salmonella was present in raw chicken packaged under various brands. It also was confirmed in raw whole chickens, ground chicken, chicken pieces, and more.

“The outbreak strain of Salmonella Infantis has been identified in samples from raw chicken products from 76 slaughter and/or processing establishments, from raw chicken pet food, and from live chickens,” according to the CDC’s outbreak statement.

Both the CDC and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) reported it is obvious the pathogen is widespread in the chicken industry. Both agencies reported they have and will continue to “engage” with industry regarding the problem. That’s a shade of gray I don’t care for — those gray areas that error on the side of business and industry instead of the public make me see red.

I understand animal agriculture, or any agriculture for that matter, is a complicated venture. I understand a democratic republic is a complicated system. I don’t understand why the government or the business community are willing to take risks with food safety.

The CDC gets a pass here, for the most part. The agency doesn’t have jurisdiction over poultry products or the businesses that produce them. The FSIS watches over the birds and beasts we raise for food. But, I’m pretty tired of the CDC continuing to harangue consumers about how they need to do more to avoid foodborne illnesses.

I do believe people need to get a clue and stop cutting up raw chicken on the same board they use for their carrot and celery sticks. However, I do not believe consumers have any blame when it comes to the pervasive pathogen problem plaguing poultry producers. I believe it is the responsibility of government to serve and protect us, and that includes doing more than chatting with food companies and industries when there are documented problems.

I checked in with the people at FSIS before writing this column. I wanted to make sure I understood what the sub-agency of Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue’s USDA is doing before I said it isn’t doing anything. Here’s the answer I got  when I asked what “engaging industry” means and whether there is a timeline for the engagement to turn into a double-ring ceremony. It’s exactly as I received it, except I deleted the extra spaces between sentences.