OIG Questions E. coli O157:H7 Testing; Still No Approval Of Carcass Irradiation
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In November 2009, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Chairwoman of the House Agriculture-FDA Appropriations Subcommittee, asked the USDA’s Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) to investigate the efficacy of the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (“FSIS”) N-60 sampling method to test beef trim for E. coli O157:H7.
In response, the OIG spent six months, from January to June 2010, auditing the FSIS’s N-60 program, and then issued the first portion of its findings in March 2011. Click on the following link to view a copy of the “Phase I” report. The detailed, 40-page report concludes that FSIS must thoroughly reevaluate its N-60 sampling program for testing beef trim.
The report demonstrates that an incredible amount of work has been done, and remains to be done, by both the OIG and the FSIS on this issue. The OIG has not yet even performed “Phase II” of its investigation. The bottom line is that FSIS will increase the amount of testing it performs for E. coli O157:H7.
While some positive changes will flow from the OIG investigation (perhaps from the Phase II evaluation of whether plants are following proper protocols for their own sampling and testing), there are valid questions about the investigation’s merit. Should so many more resources be invested in the concept of testing when we can never test to zero? As the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in beef continues to decrease, are we just going to continually increase our testing to look for a needle in the haystack that, thankfully, is now rarely present? Can the FSIS rely more heavily on the robust E. coli O157:H7 testing already being done by industry?
Testing is an important part of the validation process, but as OIG concedes, “testing alone cannot suffice to ensure that consumers are safe from a pathogen like E. coli O157:H7.” It is striking that the response to Rep. DeLauro’s request to the OIG regarding N-60 testing was expedited, but the industry’s petition to the FSIS for carcass irradiation has gone unanswered (Despite Safety Benefits, FSIS Delays Approval Of New Food Safety Technology).
Over five years ago, the American Meat Institute (“AMI”) submitted a petition to the FSIS to approve the use of carcass e-beam irradiation technology in meat plants. AMI requested that the petition be granted so that low levels of irradiation could be applied to the surface of chilled beef carcasses as a food safety processing aid. The use of this technology has proven to be an effective measure in reducing the presence of pathogens in raw meat products.
Carcass irradiation is an intervention that could immediately increase the safety of our food. We implore the FSIS to approve carcass irradiation without any further delay.
