The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) needs to improve its system for identifying E. coli in the nation’s ground beef supply, according to the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

IG Phyllis Fong found the FSIS inspection process has about a 50% failure rate in situations where E. coli is present in 1% of an inspected bin of ground beef. The FSIS audit dealt with a major component of ground beef, known as beef trim, which is the leftover after choice cuts of meat have been taken from a cow carcass.

 

Fong recommended changes for FSIS to adopt to improve inspections and reduce the risk of the deadly bacteria getting into the hands of consumers. She said it would be impractical to increase the number of inspectors at all processing plants, preferring instead that FSIS identify the highest risk facilities and concentrate resources on them.

 

An investigation by The New York Times found that ground beef was responsible for 16 outbreaks of E. coli between 2006 and 2009. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has initiated six beef-related E. coli investigations since 2007.

 

The U.S. produces 4 billion pounds of ground beef a year.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

USDA Audit Says E. Coli Testing in Ground Beef is Flawed (by Aaron Mehta, Center for Public Integrity)

FSIS Sampling Protocol for Testing Beef Trim for E. coli O157:H7 (U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General) (pdf)

N.Y. Times Traces Cargill Hamburger Patty That Paralyzed 22-Year-Old (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)