The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is planning to expand testing for six non-O157 strains of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) – just recently declared adulterants – to more beef products next year.
According to Meatingplace (subscription only), FSIS official Emilio Esteban told a North American
Continue Reading USDA Looks to Expand Non-O157 E. coli Testing
The number of Americans falling ill from foodborne pathogens remained steady or marginally worsened in the latter half of the 2000s, and 2011 turned out to show little difference, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released its annual report of foodborne illness data for 2011
Continue Reading CDC Releases Annual Foodborne Illness Data for 2011
On June 4, food regulators began screening beef for six more strains of E. coli beyond the already-monitored E. coli O157:H7. Since that time, 110 samples of beef trim have been tested for non-O157 E. coli; 3 were found to be carrying these bacteria. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service
Continue Reading First Results from New Non-O157 Testing Program Are In
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And while public health investigators have identified the deadly bacteria strain, they have yet to figure out where it’s coming from.
Now the hunt is
Continue Reading Interview: How Might Investigators Crack the E. coli O145 Outbreak?
E. coli O157:H7, O26, O111, O103, O121, O45 and O145 – it can get a bit(e) confusing. As of June 8, 2012, the CDC and various State health Departments report that there are 14 cases of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O145 infection with indistinguishable DNA patterns that have been
Continue Reading Publisher’s Platform: Non-O157 E. coli – An Alphabet Soup of Illness
As the U.S. Department of Agriculture began testing for six additional strains of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli beyond E. coli O157:H7 on Monday, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) praised the move and the American Meat Institute reaffirmed its opposition. 
“The science is clear on the risk that these pathogens present to
Continue Reading Reaction Mixed as USDA’s Non-O157 Policy Kicks In
Just days before the agency is set to begin testing raw beef trimmings for more strains of disease-causing E. coli, the Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a detailed response to comments it has received about the new policy.
The new document, published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, confirms
Continue Reading FSIS Set to Implement Non-O157 E. coli Policy Next Week
Though researchers are familiar with pre-slaughter E. coli interventions such as probiotics, vaccines, certain chemicals and viruses that kill the bacteria, few manufacturers are seeking approval for these technologies. Government could do more to encourage innovation in this area, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
Reducing contamination before
Continue Reading GAO Looks at Preslaughter Interventions to Reduce E. coli
A large proportion of E. coli strains that produce deadly Shiga toxin go under-tested and thus under-diagnosed, according to a study by Washington State Department of Health epidemiologists who surveyed health laboratories in the state to determine how extensively they test for E. coli infections.
The study, published in the
Continue Reading Non-O157 E. Coli Going Under-Tested, Under-Reported
This commentary was contributed jointly by John Munsell and Dr. Richard Raymond.
Last week, James H. Hodges, Executive Vice-President at the American Meat Institute (AMI), ostensibly penned an opinion piece for Food Safety News titled “Wrestling With the Science of STEC”. You can read it here. But in
Continue Reading Is AMI’s Hodges Slinging Mud in the Name of Science?
