Story Published: Oct 23, 2007 at 4:47 PM PDT
Story Updated: Oct 23, 2007 at 5:03 PM PDT
By Herb Weisbaum
SEATTLE - The USDA said Tuesday it is taking steps to lower the risk of e.coli contamination in the nation's meat supply.
It has been a really bad year for the meat industry, and for anyone who eats ground beef. In fact, 2007 will be a record year for recalls related to e.coli. Just look at the numbers: So far this year, there have been 15 beef recalls. That compares to 8 in 2006 and 5 in 2005.
The amount of meat recalled this year has been enormous -- 29 million pounds, which is a record for one year.
A few weeks ago, I went back to Washington, D.C. to find out why this is happening. The culprit is e.coli O157:H7, a nasty bacteria that attacks the kidneys and can cripple or kill.
No one has exact numbers, but ground beef contaminated with e.coli has sickened dozens of people across the country this year.
'We're very concerned about whether or not this trend will continue," said Caroline Smith Dewaal, director of food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The meat industry says producing a safe product is its top priority, and for obvious reasons: News about bad meat hurts business.
I asked her: "Do we have any idea what's going on here? Why this is making a comeback?"
She replied: "I think both the government and the industry are trying to figure out why. But the bottom line for the public is that the government programs aren't working effectively to control this.
"There might be a change in the way USDA is inspecting. There also might be a change in the bug itself. E.coli may be evolving past the systems that the industry had developed to get rid of them. Most importantly, many of the best practices for controlling e.coli are not required by the U.S. government."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that more needs to be done. The agency will increase and expand its testing programs, and it will now check the raw ingredients, such as trim and internal organs, that go into ground beef.
As of November, all beef processing plants and slaughter houses will be expected to verify that they are effectively controlling e.coli during processing and slaughter.
Inspectors, who are in meat plants every day, are being retrained to do a better job of making sure proper food safety procedures are being used.
But even the most aggressive testing programs won't catch all the e.coli that could be in the meat. So to be safe, you need to treat all ground beef as if it is contaminated.
That means you need to cook it thoroughly to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. You can't rely on the color of the meat or the color of the juices -- that's not accurate.
You need to use a thermometer to make sure the meat hits 160 degrees. You also need to be sure you don't cross contaminate -- moving any bacteria from one place to another in your kitchen.
As for reaction to the USDA proposal, Seattle attorney Bill Marler, who handles the bulk of the e.coli cases in the country and who has been one of the USDA's chief critic, calls this "a positive step that could make a significant difference." But he adds, "this should have been in place a long time ago."
If the USDA's new meat safety program is going to work, Marler says there needs to be serious enforcement: "I hope USDA has the willpower and manpower to do that."
For More Information:
www.fsis.usda.gov
Story Updated: Oct 23, 2007 at 5:03 PM PDT
By Herb Weisbaum
SEATTLE - The USDA said Tuesday it is taking steps to lower the risk of e.coli contamination in the nation's meat supply.
It has been a really bad year for the meat industry, and for anyone who eats ground beef. In fact, 2007 will be a record year for recalls related to e.coli. Just look at the numbers: So far this year, there have been 15 beef recalls. That compares to 8 in 2006 and 5 in 2005.
The amount of meat recalled this year has been enormous -- 29 million pounds, which is a record for one year.
A few weeks ago, I went back to Washington, D.C. to find out why this is happening. The culprit is e.coli O157:H7, a nasty bacteria that attacks the kidneys and can cripple or kill.
No one has exact numbers, but ground beef contaminated with e.coli has sickened dozens of people across the country this year.
'We're very concerned about whether or not this trend will continue," said Caroline Smith Dewaal, director of food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The meat industry says producing a safe product is its top priority, and for obvious reasons: News about bad meat hurts business.
I asked her: "Do we have any idea what's going on here? Why this is making a comeback?"
She replied: "I think both the government and the industry are trying to figure out why. But the bottom line for the public is that the government programs aren't working effectively to control this.
"There might be a change in the way USDA is inspecting. There also might be a change in the bug itself. E.coli may be evolving past the systems that the industry had developed to get rid of them. Most importantly, many of the best practices for controlling e.coli are not required by the U.S. government."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that more needs to be done. The agency will increase and expand its testing programs, and it will now check the raw ingredients, such as trim and internal organs, that go into ground beef.
As of November, all beef processing plants and slaughter houses will be expected to verify that they are effectively controlling e.coli during processing and slaughter.
Inspectors, who are in meat plants every day, are being retrained to do a better job of making sure proper food safety procedures are being used.
But even the most aggressive testing programs won't catch all the e.coli that could be in the meat. So to be safe, you need to treat all ground beef as if it is contaminated.
That means you need to cook it thoroughly to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. You can't rely on the color of the meat or the color of the juices -- that's not accurate.
You need to use a thermometer to make sure the meat hits 160 degrees. You also need to be sure you don't cross contaminate -- moving any bacteria from one place to another in your kitchen.
As for reaction to the USDA proposal, Seattle attorney Bill Marler, who handles the bulk of the e.coli cases in the country and who has been one of the USDA's chief critic, calls this "a positive step that could make a significant difference." But he adds, "this should have been in place a long time ago."
If the USDA's new meat safety program is going to work, Marler says there needs to be serious enforcement: "I hope USDA has the willpower and manpower to do that."
For More Information:
www.fsis.usda.gov