Source: American Meat Institute

USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued Notice 72-12 “Documenting Sample Source When Collecting Samples for Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli (STEC) Verification Testing.”  This notice asks inspectors to verify and document the sample source in the Public Health Information System (PHIS) when collecting raw beef samples under FSIS’s verification testing programs for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Sample sources will either be beef, veal or mixed. FSIS test results show that the percent positive for STEC from ground beef and trimmings produced from veal is higher than for STEC from ground beef and trimmings produced from other cattle slaughter classes. The agency will start reporting veal and beef separately on its website where it reports results from its STEC verification testing programs in raw beef products.

The full notice is available here: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISNotices/72-12.pdf