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- WASHINGTON (http://www.nandotimes.com)
- The government could reduce the chance of deadly bacteria tainting ground
beef by testing cattle hides and carcasses before the meat is processed,
according to a study released Tuesday.
-
- Testing for the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria now is done
after the beef is ground.
-
- Research done at a dozen packing plants last fall found
the bacteria on 3.56 percent of the hides that were sampled and 0.44 percent
of the carcasses. All the bacteria on the sample carcasses were eventually
removed through steam pasteurization, hot water or organic acid rinses,
the treatments typically used in packing plants.
-
- "It is our hope that this data will encourage USDA
to re-evaluate its ground-beef sampling program," said James H. Hodges,
president of the American Meat Industry Foundation, which sponsored the
research. "A carcass testing program for E. coli O157:H7 is more practicable
and will help ensure that the safest and most wholesome product possible
enters commerce."
-
- The industry research was presented Tuesday at a public
meeting of the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The agency is considering tightening its controls for E. coli as a result
of new findings about its prevalence.
-
- Samples in the industry study were taken at a rate of
1 per 300 carcasses.
-
- E. coli O157 can cause serious illness and sometimes
death, especially in children and the elderly. Symptoms include chills
and bloody diarrhea. The bacteria are destroyed by adequately cooking the
meat.
-
- The infection rate in beef being ground in packing plants
is less than 0.05 percent.
-
- Consumer groups say that testing for E. coli is inadequate.
The ground-beef testing program, which was started after tainted hamburger
killed several children in Washington state in 1993, "is not systematic,
and provides inadequate coverage," said Caroline Smith DeWaal of the
Center for Science in the Public Interest.
-
- "Like throwing darts at a dart board, although the
government hits the target occasionally, it is clearly missing a lot of
the problem."
-
- The federal government recently approved the use of irradiation
to treat raw meat, but it is unclear yet whether consumers will react to
that.
-
- Meanwhile, scientists are working on additional methods
of treatment. One of those is an anti-microbial agent, known as lactoferrin,
that is a naturally occurring protein in the milk of mammals.
-
- Laboratory research, which was being presented at Tuesday's
USDA meeting, showed that lactoferrin was effective against more than 30
different kinds of harmful bacteria, including E. coli, salmonella and
campylobacter. Lactoferrin does not change the taste, flavor, color or
appearance of meat and isn't harmful to humans, the researchers aid.
-
- "We have borrowed a page from Mother Nature,"
said A.S. Naidu, a medical microbiologist at California State Polytechnic
University-Pomona, where the treatment was developed. "We have taken
a natural compound with anti-microbial properties and discovered a way
to make it work on meat surfaces to provide a protective barrier against
harmful bacteria."
-
- Industry officials say the treatment could be useful
if it is shown to be effective in packing plants. _____
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- Up To Half US Cattle Have E. Coli
-
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- http://www.canoe.ca/WorldTicker/CANOE-wire.US-Meat-Safety.html
3-1-00
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- WASHINGTON (AP) -- As many as half the cattle in the
feedlots of the United States, far more than previously thought, are infected
with deadly bacteria, the government said Tuesday.
-
- Researchers using new testing methods found E. coli O157:H7
present in rates varying from one per cent in the winter months to as much
as 50 per cent in the summer. Previously, government scientists had thought
the infection rate to be no more than about five per cent.
-
- Cattle are exposed to the bacteria from manure in feedlots.
-
- The new figures were developed by the Agriculture Department's
Agricultural Research Service and presented at a public session sponsored
by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
-
- The study concluded that chances of E. coli getting into
ground beef could be reduced by testing cattle hides and carcasses before
the meat is processed. Testing now is done after the beef is ground.
-
- Consumer groups agree that the government needs to require
far more extensive testing of cattle and beef to prevent people from being
exposed to the germs. "The prevalence figures are much higher than
we ever heard before" said Caroline Smith DeWaal of the Center for
Science in the Public Interest.
-
- Research done at a dozen packing plants last fall found
the bacteria on 3.56 per cent of the hides that were sampled and 0.44 per
cent of the carcasses. All the bacteria on the sample carcasses were eventually
removed through steam pasteurization, hot water or organic acid rinses,
the treatments typically used in packing plants. "It is our hope
that this data will encourage USDA to re-evaluate its ground-beef sampling
program," said James Hodges, president of the American Meat Industry
Foundation, which sponsored the research. "A carcass testing program
for E. coli O157:H7 is more practicable and will help ensure that the safest
and most wholesome product possible enters commerce."
-
- Samples in the industry study were taken at a rate of
one per 300 carcasses.
-
- E. coli O157 can cause serious illness and sometimes
death, especially in children and the elderly. Symptoms include chills
and bloody diarrhea. The bacteria are destroyed by adequately cooking the
meat.
-
- The infection rate in beef being ground in packing plants
is less than 0.05 per cent. The ground-beef testing program, which was
started after tainted hamburger killed several children in Washington state
in 1993, "is not systematic, and provides inadequate coverage,"
DeWaal said. "Like throwing darts at a dart board, although the government
hits the target occasionally, it is clearly missing a lot of the problem,"
she said.
-
- The federal government recently approved the use of irradiation
to treat raw meat, but it is unclear yet whether consumers will react to
that.
-
- Meanwhile, scientists are working on additional methods
of treatment. One of those is an anti-microbial agent, known as lactoferrin,
that is a naturally occurring protein in the milk of mammals.
-
- Laboratory research showed that lactoferrin was effective
against more than 30 different kinds of harmful bacteria, including E.
coli, salmonella and campylobacter. Lactoferrin does not change the taste,
flavour, colour or appearance of meat and isn't harmful to humans, the
researchers aid. "We have borrowed a page from Mother Nature,"
said A.S. Naidu, a medical microbiologist at California State Polytechnic
University-Pomona, where the treatment was developed. "We have taken
a natural compound with anti-microbial properties and discovered a way
to make it work on meat surfaces to provide a protective barrier against
harmful bacteria."
-
- Industry officials say the treatment could be useful
if it is shown to be effective in packing plants.
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