FSIS announces redesign of E. coli O157:H7 verification testing program for beef trimmings
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service has posted a notice in the Federal Register of 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 enable FSIS to calculate on-going statistical prevalence estimates for E. coli O157:H7 in raw beef manufacturing trimmings.
FSIS will also conduct a beef carcass baseline survey to determine the presence and levels of the pathogenic E. coli, including O157:H7 and the six non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) most commonly associated with illness in the United States; Salmonella species; and certain indicator organisms.