USDA Beefs Up Procedures to Detect, Remove Unsafe Ground Beef
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) yesterday announced new procedures that will allow the agency to trace contaminated ground beef back to its source more quickly, remove it from commerce, and find the root cause of the incident to prevent it from recurring. The changes announced yesterday build on other initiatives the agency has instituted this summer to improve the safety of ground beef, including a proposed requirement that retailers keep records of their ground beef source suppliers and new laboratory methods the agency is using to test these products for multiple pathogens at one time.
“A critical component of preventing foodborne illness is quickly identifying sources of contamination and removing unsafe products from store shelves,” said Brian Ronholm, USDA deputy undersecretary for Food Safety. “The expedited traceback procedures... will allow FSIS to take action more quickly, which will make a significant difference in food safety investigations and in preventing foodborne illnesses.”