September 28, 2012

Australia meat exporters works towards fulfilling requirements of US E. coli testing system

The head of Australia's largest meat processing firm says that beef exporters are working towards fulfilling requirements of a new E. coli testing system in the US.

In June, more comprehensive E. coli testing protocols were introduced for food safety reasons, which industry sources say is leading to more meat being rejected.

JBS Australia, director John Berry, says that isn't necessarily the case and he's travelling to the US this weekend to discuss the changes.

"What we need to ensure in our visit to the US is that we engage with the head of the Food Safety Inspection Service, along with senior politicians and law makers over in the US, to ensure we have the equivalence in terms of how our product is treated, the same as the US testing regime."