Source  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 11/25/09

Recent data USDA provided to Meatingplace shows the success behind the agency's efforts to reduce the risk of contaminated ground beef being served in the nation's schools.

In September, the agency's Agricultural Marketing Service, arbiter of the National School Lunch Program, confirmed there has been just one positive detection of E. coli O157:H7 in finished ground beef since 2005. In that same time span, AMS has had 36 positive findings of the same pathogen from tests conducted on raw product before it was ground.

All affected product, per AMS specifications, was held while testing was conducted and diverted from USDA contracts, preventing entry into schools, spokesman Caleb Weaver said.

"Once product produced for an AMS contract tests positive for a pathogen, it cannot be delivered to meet contract requirements," he said in an e-mail.

Last month, amid the fallout of a New York Times article questioning the safety of ground beef and recent ground beef recalls stemming from E. coli contamination, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the likelihood of contaminated ground beef from the commercial sector entering schools. Additionally, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) asked the Office of the Inspector General to probe the efficacy of FSIS's N=60 testing.

"USDA-provided foods represent as much as 20 percent of all food served in school meals, and USDA specifications for these foods often exceed those for commercial-grade products," Weaver said.

Debate

Industry members debate the extent of the difference between the efficacy and intensity of AMS and FSIS testing. However, there is no debate about the fact that AMS requires suppliers to hold product until tests confirm its safety, and FSIS does not.

The American Meat Institute in October urged USDA to act on AMI's prior request that FSIS require companies to control product tested by FSIS until the test results confirm its safety. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, AMI President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle noted that more than 80 percent of the recalls due to the presence of E. coli O157:H7 and all recalls due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes during 2009 could have been prevented if the product tested for adulterants by either the establishment or FSIS had not entered commerce until test results were available.

Opponents of such a measure have argued that waiting for lab results would reduce the shelf life of product. Others, mainly small independent operators, argue it would complicate their ability to fulfill same-day orders.