Consumers expect and rightfully demand a plentiful supply of affordable, safe, and wholesome red meat. Concerns about the safety of meat have been important to the industry, the public, and the government since the implementation of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Unfortunately, despite the effort expended in controlling foodborne illnesses in the U.S., foodborne pathogens cost the GDP more than $17.6 billion each year in direct and indirect costs.¹

One of the most notable improvements to food safety is the implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), which has been globally adopted as a method to systematically improve food safety. The implementation of other procedures, such as "test and hold" for ground beef prior to shipment to consumers, has significantly improved consumer safety. As a result of these systematic improvements in the food supply chain driven by industry and government actions, the U.S. food supply is safer than ever before.