USDA Takes New Steps to
Fight E. Coli, Protect the Food Supply
Designation
Extends Zero Tolerance Policy for E. coli O157:H7 to Six Additional E.
coli Serogroups
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2011 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that it is taking new steps to fight E. coli and protect the safety of the American food supply. Six additional serogroups of pathogenic E. coli will be declared adulterants in non-intact raw beef. Raw ground beef, its components, and tenderized steaks found to contain these bacteria will be prohibited from sale to consumers. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will launch a testing program to detect these dangerous pathogens and prevent them from reaching consumers.
As a result of today's action, if the E. coli serogroups O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 and O145 are found in raw ground beef or its precursors, those products will be prohibited from entering commerce. Like E.coli O157:H7, these serogroups can cause severe illness and even death, and young children and the elderly are at highest risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies these particular serogroups of non-O157:H7 Shiga-toxin producing E.coli, or non-O157 STEC, as those responsible for the greatest numbers of non-O157 STEC illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States.
"The Obama Administration is committed to protecting our food supply and preventing illnesses before they happen," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Today's announcement does exactly that by targeting and eliminating contaminated products from the market. Too often, we are caught reacting to a problem instead of preventing it. This new policy will help stop problems before they start."
"The impact of foodborne illness on a family can be devastating," said Under Secretary Elisabeth Hagen. "Consumers deserve a modernized food safety system that focuses on prevention and protects them and their families from emerging threats. As non-O157 STEC bacteria have emerged and evolved, so too must our regulatory policies to protect the public health and ensure the safety of our food supply."
Today's action is an important part of the government-wide commitment to dealing with emerging microbial threats. Through the President's Food Safety Working Group, USDA and its federal partners have been working on a new, public health-focused approach to food safety based on the principles of prevention, strengthening surveillance and enforcement, and improving response.
"The Food and Drug Administration applauds USDA for taking this action to better protect consumers," said FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods Mike Taylor. "We are committed to working with FSIS to prevent disease causing non-O157 STEC bacteria in all foods. Through implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act, FDA will continue to place prevention at the core of the efforts to improve the food safety system."
FSIS will begin testing for these six serogroups of STEC and enforcing the new policy on March 5, 2012. The Agency invites interested persons to submit comments within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register. FSIS would like to hear from the public on a number of issues highlighted in the Federal Register notice, including the implementation of the policy and additional outreach the Agency will conduct, such as public meetings.
Over the past two years, FSIS has announced several new measures to safeguard the food supply, prevent foodborne illness, and improve consumers' knowledge about the food they eat. These initiatives support the three core principles developed by the President's Food Safety Working Group (FSWG). Some of these actions include:
As part of its multi-faceted approach to prevent foodborne illness, USDA also launched Food Safe Families, a consumer education campaign with the Ad Council, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is the first joint public service campaign to empower families to further reduce their risk of foodborne illness at home by checking their key food safety steps: clean, separate, cook, and chill. For more information, go to http://www.foodsafety.gov.
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Attribute Statement to AMI Executive Vice President James H. Hodges
"The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) desire to eliminate non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (nSTEC) from the U.S. beef supply is something the beef industry strongly shares. But USDA's announcement today declaring six strains of naturally occurring nSTEC to be adulterants in ground beef is premised upon the notion that the government can make products safe simply by banning a pathogen.
"This new policy is not supported by science and likely will not
benefit public health. Indeed, in the policy notice USDA
acknowledged that 'we do not know how many illnesses will actually be
prevented. It is not clear whether or not there will be a
reduction in the number of illnesses. It is also challenging to
know what the industry cost will be because it is difficult to predict
how many establishments will start to test and what the size
distribution will be or to what extent industry will take additional
measures that will prevent, reduce, or control those hazards, as they
do with regard to O157 STEC.'
"This announcement proves that perspective on this issue is badly needed. nSTEC have caused illnesses, but nSTEC in ground beef have only been directly linked to one outbreak involving three illnesses. CDC estimates that 48 million foodborne illnesses occur in the U.S. annually and nSTEC from all food sources account for 112,000 illness, yet federal resources are being devoted only to nSTEC in beef products that account for less than 0.1 percent of total foodborne illnesses. While we all wish that number were zero, considering that more than a billion servings of ground beef are consumed annually, that is an excellent safety record. The public health data clearly indicate that there is no public health crisis related to nSTEC in ground beef.
"Furthermore, what the science shows is that current technologies used to destroy E. coli O157:H7 -- technologies that have dramatically reduced this pathogen to levels never thought possible a decade ago -- are equally effective against all strains. Indeed, in the notice, FSIS stated that 'these methods should be as effective in controlling non-O157 STEC as in controlling E. coli O157:H7.' Now, however, USDA will spend millions of dollars testing for these strains instead of using those limited resources toward preventive strategies that are far more effective in ensuring food safety.
"It is also concerning that this major announcement is not accompanied by a public health risk assessment, which is ordinarily the basis for good public health policy. Instead, USDA drafted a paper detailing its 'reasoning' because the agency admits it does not have the data needed to do a proper public health risk assessment.
"Imposing this new regulatory program on ground beef will cost tens of millions of federal and industry dollars -- costs that likely will be borne by taxpayers and consumers. It is neither likely to yield a significant public health benefit nor is it good public policy."