The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service would like to clarify that establishments wishing to adopt the cloth sampling method (i.e., manual sampling device or continuous sampling device) for Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichiacoli (STEC) testing of raw beef products no longer require a “No Objection Letter (NOL)” from FSIS.
Additionally, these establishments will not have to collect additional microbiological data when validating the cloth sampling method, if using the same parameters as their supporting documentation (see examples below).