August 15, 2014

US sets new procedures for beef to prevent E. coli outbreaks

In the latest effort to prevent E. coli outbreaks caused by contaminated meat, USDA on Wednesday announced new procedures for detecting and removing unsafe ground beef from grocery stores and suppliers, Reuters reported.

Under the new procedures, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will start immediate investigations on businesses whose ground beef tests positive for E. coli O157:H7 during initial testing, together with suppliers that provide source materials.

In the past, FSIS did not begin investigations before receiving confirmation on a presumptive positive test result. The process can take two days, while tracing E. coli outbreaks back to the source could take 30 days.

"A critical component of preventing foodborne illness is quickly identifying sources of contamination and removing unsafe products from store shelves," said Brian Ronholm, USDA's deputy under secretary for food safety.