New practices have been put into place to make the nation's favorite form of beef safer than ever.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced updated procedures that will allow the agency to trace contaminated ground beef back to its source more quickly, remove it from retail faster and identify the root of the cause sooner.
Typically, a company that produces ground beef purchases source materials from slaughterhouses or other suppliers. As the ground beef is being processed, the FSIS takes a sample and tests it for the presence of illness causing E. coli O157:H7.
Under the old system, after an initial positive test result, the FSIS waited two days for the laboratory to confirm the result before proceeding with an investigation or regulatory action. Since most positive test results are ultimately confirmed as positive, under the new procedures FSIS can take action immediately. This change will allow FSIS to prevent more illnesses by removing potentially unsafe products from store shelves even sooner.
Another big change is that, as soon as an initial positive result is found, specially trained FSIS staff will evaluate the supplying slaughter establishment. In the past, the agency had to wait 30 days before conducting its Food Safety Assessment.
Not long ago, the agency also issued a proposed rule that would require retail establishments to keep detailed grinding log records when making ground beef. These records would be a crucial link in determining the source of foodborne illness outbreaks.
The above practices will be fully implemented by October 14, 2014, and provide important health benefits to consumers. Ground beef has a higher risk of E. coli contamination since more surface area is exposed during the grinding process, and USDA estimates it could have requested as many as 29 additional recalls during a recent two-year period had these procedures already been in place.
