The beef industry has been focused on dealing with E. coli O157:H7 since the 1993 Jack in the Box outbreak. Researchers at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) have been conducting studies since then to help the industry reduce the risk of this pathogen ending up in beef products. These studies attempt to fill knowledge gaps that will enable the industry to make beef even safer, and include trying to understand how E. coli colonizes in the bovine gut, evaluating new pre-harvest and post-harvest interventions, and developing and validating improved testing methods.
FSIS has indicated their intent, starting next spring, to regulate non-O157 STEC serotypes O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145 as adulterants in certain raw beef products the same as it does for O157:H7. USMARC scientists anticipated this years ago and have been conducting studies for 10 years to help the beef industry deal with these additional E. coli. serotypes.