The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is announcing its intention to redesign its E. coli O157:H7 verification testing program for beef manufacturing trimmings to make the program “more risk-based” and to run ongoing statistical prevalence estimates for E. coli O157:H7 in raw beef trimmings. The notice, published in the Federal Register Wednesday, also discusses FSIS’s plans to perform a beef carcass baseline. “FSIS seeks public comment on its plans, which have been developed in response to a 2011 audit by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) of FSIS’s protocol for N-60 sampling of beef manufacturing trimmings for E. coli O157:H7,” reads the notice. In 2010, FSIS’s sampling program came under harsh criticism from the OIG and the government auditor made a number of recommendations to the agency. The announcement also says that FSIS has made changes to its beef manufacturing trimmings program to increase both the collection rate and the likelihood that FSIS will find positive samples. The notice points out several changes, including that the agency has increased sampling through the “high prevalence season” for E. coli, which is May through October in the United States. “Because of resource constraints, however, increased sampling during the high-prevalence season will require a decrease in sampling during the low prevalence season.” The agency notes that it is likely that the changes in sampling will increase the probability of obtaining E. coli O157:H7 positive results in beef manufacturing trimmings during FSIS verification testing by a factor of about 2.5. FSIS welcomes interested stakeholders to comment on the changes. Comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions at that site for submitting comments.
The News Desk team at Food Safety News covers breaking developments, regulatory updates, recalls, and key topics shaping food safety today. These articles are produced collaboratively by our editorial staff.
As part of its enforcement activities, the Food and Drug Administration sends warning letters to entities under its jurisdiction. Some letters are not posted for public view until weeks or
The challenges raised by online food sales require special attention and a possible rethinking of existing legal systems, according to a report.
The study, published by the UN Food and
The FDA has launched a review of the food preservative BHA, which was first approved by the agency in 1961.
As part of the review of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), the
As part of its enforcement activities, the Food and Drug Administration sends warning letters to entities under its jurisdiction. Some letters are not posted for public view until weeks or
Registration is now open for the 2026 Food Safety Summit, taking place May 11–14 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.
Recognized as one of the
IF Copack LLC doing business as Initiative Foods is recalling one lot of the “Tippy Toes” brand Apple Pear Banana Fruit puree because of elevated levels of patulin.
Patulin is
Certain Stellar Bay Shellfish brand oysters are being recalled in Canada because of norovirus contamination.
There have been illnesses associated with consumption of the recalled oysters, according to the Canadian
