After Increase in Recalls, USDA to Step Up Tests for E. Coli in Beef
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Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The Department of Agriculture said it will begin testing more domestic and imported meat used to make ground beef for E. coli contamination, following an increase in recalls for the potentially deadly bacteria.
Richard Raymond, the USDA's undersecretary for food safety, announced the plan yesterday. He said there have been 15 beef recalls for possible E. coli contamination this year, compared with eight last year. The plan will result in more rapid recalls from a broader range of evidence, Raymond said.
"Obviously something has changed," Raymond said. "We realized we need to do even more" to monitor the problem.
The USDA is seeking to prevent recalls similar to the one in late September, when Topps Meat called back 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground-beef products for possible E. coli contamination. At least 30 people in eight states became ill after eating the meat. The recall by the company, which has since closed, was the fifth-biggest meat recall ever.
In July, the number of tests for E. coli in ground beef increased by more than 75 percent in response to the higher number of recalls, Raymond said. Starting in January, routine targeted samplings at slaughter plants will jump 50 percent, to 4,500 annually, he said, with high-volume plants tested more frequently.
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service will also begin testing materials used in ground beef, in addition to beef trim, which is already tested, Raymond said. Countries that ship beef to the United States will have to conduct similar testing, he said.
The USDA said it will also speed up the recall process by taking into account "a broader, more complete range of evidence" when deciding whether to take regulatory action. In the Topps case, the department was criticized for allowing weeks to pass between the first reports of illness and the recall.
"Lessons learned from a number of recalls, including the recent Topps recall, emphasized the need for us to do even more to strengthen our policies and programs," Raymond said.
