FSIS To Place Additional Emphasis On Pre-Harvest And Carcass Interventions

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Shawn Stevens

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (“FSIS”) revealed its vision for 2011 at the North American Meat Processors Association’s Annual Outlook Conference. Briefly, Dr. Dan Engeljohn, FSIS’s chief policy writer, touched on the following:

  • Salmonella will receive more attention in 2011;
  • A HACCP Validation Guidance Draft will be issued in early 2011;
  • New regulations for labeling non-intact product may be published in late 2011;
  • FSIS will respond to the industry’s petition for carcass irradiation “fairly quickly” (the petition has been pending for five years);
  • FSIS will focus more on pre-harvest and carcass interventions for beef in 2011.

With regard to the last point, Dr. Engeljohn said that the agency is developing a draft protocol to study beef carcass contamination levels, with the anticipation it will lead to better controls immediately after hide removal. In conjunction with the carcass study, the FSIS will also conduct tests on cattle and water in holding pens. Dr. Engeljohn said pork, poultry and veal slaughter facilities should expect a similar approach from FSIS.

Food manufacturer Cargill has already placed incredible emphasis on preventing contamination at its root. The company, along with Epitopix and the National Cattleman’s Beef Association, developed a cattle vaccine project aimed at reducing E. coli O157:H7 in cattle before they reach the processing plant. On Monday, Cargill announced encouraging preliminary results from its first vaccine trial.

The first trial, at a cost of $1 million, involved 85,000 head of beef cattle from 10 feedlots. The vaccinated cattle, harvested by Cargill from May through August, had a favorable immune system response to the vaccine with no adverse reaction. There was enough promising evidence in the first trial that the company will conduct a second trial in summer 2011.

Dan Schaefer, Cargill assistant vice president for beef research and development stated “While additional research is required to better understand vaccine's potential value in controlling E. coli O157:H7 from farm and feedlot to consumers, we're committed to that pursuit. We continuously strive to provide the safest food possible, every serving, every time.”

We are certainly hopeful that the continued endeavors of government and industry alike will yield safer food in 2011 and beyond.
 

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What's On USDA's Plate? A Snapshot Of Current Policy Thinking

Posted on August 24, 2009 by Shawn Stevens

At a recent conference focused on the prevention of E. coli, the USDA came prepared to comment on its current thinking relating to new and emerging policy initiatives. In turn, Dan Engeljohn (Deputy Assistant Administrator of the FSIS Office of Policy and Program Development) offered a number of pointed observations.

In cases involving a further processor which commingles raw materials from multiple suppliers, it can sometimes be difficult to trace the source of a subsequent outbreak to a single supplier. As a result, Engeljohn explained that the USDA is currently analyzing the merits of using the internal microbiological testing data generated by a further processor of product testing positive for pathogens to help the agency trace the pathogen back to the originating slaughter facility.

With respect to slaughter facilities themselves, Engeljohn also announced that the USDA may issue criteria for assessing prudent "high event day determinations.” Although the USDA concedes that 100 percent testing at any large slaughter operation would likely produce at least some positives during any given day of production, Engeljohn noted further that a large number of positives in a short period of time could potentially be a red flag.

Engeljohn also confirmed that the USDA is continuing its work on validating the methodology for testing and identifying non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli (STECS), from six serogroups (O26, O103, O111, O121, O45 and O145), in FSIS samples. Once sufficient baseline data can be collected and assessed, the agency will likely make a determination whether to classify any of these pathogens as adulterants in raw ground product. In addition, although whole-intact cuts of beef containing E. coli O157:H7 are not considered adulterated under current law, Engeljohn suggested that USDA is continuing to consider whether it may someday modify this standard.

Moving forward, we will, of course, continue to report on new and emerging developments.

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