The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been urged to test raw beef carcasses and trimmings for the presence of food poisoning bacteria Escherichia coli O157:H7, as it already does for raw ground beef, by consumer groups who filed a petition with USDA yesterday [Tuesday].
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The groups, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the American Public Health Association, Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League, and Safe Tables Our Priority (STOP), want testing earlier in the production process, so beef contaminated with the pathogen does not get ground in with uncontaminated beef.
“Current government testing for E. coli O157:H7 isn¹t working as well as it could or should,” insisted Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for CSPI: “USDA should start testing beef carcasses for that deadly bacterium, and any carcasses found to be contaminated should be cleaned and retested.”
E. coli O157:H7 is a dangerous strain of bacteria that can cause acute illness and even death. Because it poses a significant public health concern, USDA has established a “zero tolerance” policy for that pathogen and annually tests about 7,000 random samples of raw ground beef prepared in federally inspected plants and in retail stores.
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