Food safetyU.S. extends zero tolerance policy to six additional E.Coli serogroups
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has taken additional steps to fight E. coli in the food supply; the new policy adds six E. coli serogroups to the list of sergroups which are not allowed to be present in raw ground beef or the meat used to make raw ground beef; the beef industry says it will be too expensive to implement, and U.S. trading partners said preventing their beef from entering the U.S. unless tested for the six serogroups would violate existing trade agreement
The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced on 13 September 2011 that they were taking extra steps to fight E. coli in the food supply. Under the new ruling, should E. coli serogroups O26, O103, O45, O111, O121, and O145 are found in raw ground beef or the meat used to make raw ground beef. Such products will be prohibited from being sold as food in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified these serogroups as responsible for most incidents involving non-O157 Shiga-toxin producing E. coli and which causes illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States. The FSIS predicts the new standard will save 25,000 food borne illnesses annually. The FSIS originally intended to implement a routine sampling program for these serogroups by 5 March 2012, but have since postponed this until 4 June 2012 to allow more time to prepare.
Just like the more widely known serotype E. coli O157:H7, these non-O157 Shiga-toxin producing serogroups of bacteria can lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a blood disease that can result in fatal kidney failure, especially in young children.
Some beef industry processors have already agreed to test all of their lean beef for the non-0157 serogroups, but others continue to challenge the implementation of the new rules, claiming it will unduly impact trade and the meat industry. The Beef Industry Food Safety Council contends the new regulations will cost the industry between $173 and $323 million dollars annually.
While already testing for E. coli O157, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand contend that by demanding the testing of imported goods to the United States for further serogroups of E. coli, the United States may violate existing trade agreements under the World Trade Organization (WTO). They argue that the USDA FSIS should provide a risk assessment under Article 5 of the WTO agreement.
The USDA issued a draft risk assessment on non-O157 E. coli In August 2011, but it remains unclear whether this was submitted to the WTO. The USDA FSIS have already updated their Microbiological Laboratory Guidebook (MLG 5B.01) to add the detection and isolation of the same non-O157 serogroups in meat products, which became effective 4 November 2011. It specifies a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method for screening and isolating the non-O157 serogroups. On 13 January 2012 one company announced they have developed a commercial method of testing for the non-O157 serogroups. The USDA FSIS, however, postponed the implementation of a routine sampling program for these serogroups until 4 June 2012 to allow more time to prepare.
