Meatingplace.com was first to report on plans by USDA to start testing ground beef and ground beef component samples for non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli (STECs) to determine whether to declare them adulterants.
(A couple of relevant outbreak tables involving non-O157 STECs are available at:
http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/2007/10/articles/e-coli/nono157-stec-meeting/)
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Officials from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service told about 200 participants at a public meeting on Wednesday the agency will test both samples that test positive and those that test negative for E. coli O157:H7, but production lots will not be recalled, seized or detained if they only test positive for non-O157 STECs. The data is being generated only for study purposes at this time.
USDA will issue a public notice to announce a start date, which has not been determined. FSIS Deputy Assistant Administrator Daniel Engeljohn said the agency will assess the testing data "over a limited timeframe sufficient to ascertain the general likelihood of the presence of selected non-O157 STECs."
"Based on the evidence that we develop from our testing, as well as other available evidence, we will decide whether to declare selected non-O157 STECs to be adulterants," he said in a presentation prepared for the group.
Elizabeth Hagen, FSIS executive associate for Public Health, said the testing will focus on six groups of E. coli bacteria — O26, O111, O103, O121, O45 and O145 — which are responsible for 75 percent of non-O157 illnesses. She noted the true incidence of non-O157 human illness is difficult to define, due to limited awareness and non-uniform surveillance. Outbreaks worldwide have been associated with varied non-food and food vehicles, including meat.
While USDA has not yet decided to declare the non-O157 STECs adulterants, Engeljohn outlined the process if the agency does. The agency would:
* define applicable products from slaughter/dressing and further processing operations
* issue a Federal Register Notice in the form of an interpretive rule
* establish an effective date that ensures sufficient time to address seamless implementation for both domestic and imported products
* issue compliance guidelines
* issue policy implementation instructions and train FSIS inspection personnel
* conduct outreach to the regulated industry.
Well aware of the controversy these and other proposed actions are likely to generate, FSIS Under Secretary Richard Raymond opened the meeting by saying, "You certainly may hear things you don’t agree with…Progress won’t occur if we’re just wanting to avoid discomfort by maintaining the old status quo. The E. coli bug is obviously not satisfied with the status quo and neither should we be."
More to follow.