October 24, 2007

 

USDA stepping up action plan on E. Coli O157:H7 bacteria

 

 

The US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service is boosting its efforts to test for E. coli O157:H7 bacteria and protect public health.

 

In a teleconference with media Tuesday, USDA officials said the stepped up efforts include expanded testing and more rapid recalls. Some of the efforts were already initiated this spring and summer.

 

Richard Raymond, Under Secretary for Food Safety, said the FSIS "has taken a number of aggressive actions to respond to a recent increase in E. coli O157:H7 recalls and illnesses associated with this pathogen, and we are further expanding these efforts."

 

In a release, FSIS said that in June of this year, an increased number of E. coli O157:H7 positive tests were identified in beef along with a larger number of recalls and illnesses caused by the pathogen than in recent years. The agency immediately took a number of steps, including increasing the number of tests of ground beef for the harmful bacteria by more than 75 percent in July. It also began planning for a new follow-up testing program for federally inspected beef plants that had positive tests for E. coli O157:H7.

 

Other initiatives are set for implementation in spring of 2008 in response to concerns about increased positives of E. coli O157:H7. FSIS said it accelerated its plans to review suppliers and processors based on a new checklist, once inspection program personnel complete specialized training, which begins next week.

 

"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," said Raymond. "We also realized that to make risk-based inspection in processing most effective, we need to strengthen our database that will support that system."

 

FSIS also determined that steps were needed to ensure that inspection program personnel and the industry fully understand the nature of the challenge presented by E. coli O157:H7. The agency is ensuring that suppliers, processors and FSIS will be able to identify an emerging problem as early as possible and to prevent contaminated product from entering commerce, USDA's press release said.

 

A number of key initiatives are targeted to federally inspected plants that produce raw beef products. These include testing and analysis of beef trim, verifying control of E. coli O157:H7, the development of a new checklist to be used to more quickly identify significant changes in plants' production controls and ensure the companies takes corrective action. The release said FSIS will analyze the checklist data and use it to adjust programs or policies as needed. There will also be more testing of domestic and imported ground beef components.

 

The FSIS is also working to speed up the recall process, and as of January will be targeting its routine testing for E. coli O157:H7 at slaughter and grinding facilities. Currently, all plants have an equal chance of being tested. Under this new verification testing program, FSIS will test larger volume operations more frequently than in the past. Data from the checklists will be used to determine testing frequency for establishments.

 

FSIS said it has also notified countries that export raw beef product to the US of new policies and programs and is working with them to ensure they implement the same or equivalent measures to protect the public from E. coli O157:H7 risks, the release said.

 

A list of all the actions taken by FSIS to reduce E. coli O157:H7 is available on the FSIS' web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/ NR_102307_01_Att/ NR_102307_01_Att/