USDA/FSIS to Hold Public Meeting Via Teleconference on Proposed STEC E. coli Plans

The comment period, which was originally scheduled to end on November 21, 2011, has been extended until December 21, 2011. More information on commenting is available on the Federal Register. 

 

The Background. On September 20, FSIS published a document regarding non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing (STEC)E. coli. The document also requested comments regarding the Agency’s implementation plans and methods for controlling these pathogens in raw, non-intact beef products and product components. 

 

FSIS intention is to carry out verification procedures, including sampling and testing of manufacturing trim and other raw ground beef components, to ensure control of both E. coli O157:H7 and six other serogroups of STEC E. coli (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145). FSIS has determined that these, as well as O157:H7, are adulterants of non-intact raw beef products and product components within the meaning of the Federal Meat Inspection Act. The agency will also publish guidance for use in validating commercial pathogen detection test kits that may be capable of detecting the STEC of concern.

 

Additionally, FSIS is planning a survey of its field personnel who are stationed in beef slaughtering and processing establishments, similar to the 2007 “checklist” survey, to determine the processing practices that are employed to reduce the likelihood of contamination of intact and non-intact beef product with these STEC. In October 2011, the agency announced its planned revision to the FSIS Microbiology Laboratory Guidebook (MLG) 5B, “Detection and Isolation of Non-O157 Shiga-Toxin Producing Escherichia coli (STEC) from Meat Products,” to expand laboratory testing for the detection of the six targeted serogroups. Chapters MLG 5B.01, MLG 5B Appendix 1.00, MLG 5B Appendix 2.00 and MLG Appendix 1.06 are now available at FSIS.

 

FSIS intends to use these methods, beginning March 5, 2012, in testing raw ground beef or in source material used to make ground beef, as well as mechanically tenderized steaks and roasts, for E. coli serogroups O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145. If the Agency finds any of those serogroups in these types of products, it will prohibit the product from entering commerce. 

 

Beef slaughter and further processing plants should begin now to assess their food safety systems to ensure that they are capable of controlling these pathogens. Given FSIS’s planned course of action, establishments that produce the listed products should take steps to ensure that the laboratory test they use to verify the controls they employ is effective in reliably detecting the presence of these pathogens. Establishments can rely upon the FSIS laboratory methodology released in October and updated on November 4 which has been demonstrated to reliably identify these pathogens, or they can use an equivalent methodology of their choice.