Source:  Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 9/29/10

Over the next year meat processors can expect USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to make decisions on such issues as regulating non-O157strains of E. coli, mandating “test and hold” for ground beef and requiring new labels on mechanically tenderized meat, according to a USDA official.

The industry can also expect a rule-making proposal on keeping better records on ground beef raw material sourcing, or “grinding logs” and better N-60 sample collection consistency by FSIS inspectors, Daniel Engeljohn, assistant administrator for the FSIS Office of Policy and Program Development, told participants at an E. coli prevention conference here.

In a speech last week, USDA’s newly confirmed Under Secretary for Food Safety Elisabeth Hagen said USDA needs to broaden its reach on ground beef pathogen control beyond E. coli O157:H7, which is currently the only Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strain considered an adulterant in ground beef.

Engeljohn said a USDA ruling on the long stalled industry petition for USDA to mandate “test and hold” for ground beef products is also likely to happen in the coming months.

USDA has also been petitioned to mandate labels on mechanically tenderized meat that would flag it as a different product than intact meat cuts that should therefore be cooked differently to ensure its safety.

 Engeljohn said that decision will take some time, as it would be subject to rule-making process, including public comment. The petition has, however, been identified as an issue FSIS intends to address in 2011. 

  
Also on the regulatory agenda for the spring of 2011 is the issue of mandating more accurate and consistent “grinding logs” to enable the agency to more quickly trace ground beef from a retail establishment back to the suppliers of its source materials. This would be part of USDA’s effort to improved traceability in the event of illnesses or recalled products.

One issue that does not involve rulemaking is improving N-60 sample collection consistency in terms of getting the right number of samples and correct sample size to facilitate faster, more accurate processing once the samples reach the laboratory for analysis. “This really comes down to something we can do now and would be under our improvements of the trace back policy,” he told Meatingplace.

To improve inspection efficiency, Engeljohn said FSIS is developing operational performance measures. One example of a potential measure would be increasing the percentage of scheduled routine E. coli O157:H7 samples that are analyzed. Another would be increasing the percentage of establishments for which Intensified Verification Testing (IVT) has been scheduled within 30 days in response to a pathogen positive test result.

The conference was organized by the North American Meat Processors Association and sponsored by a number of meat industry groups, supplier companies and media outlets including Meatingplace.

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