For the last few weeks, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has been using a new procedure to more quickly trace the source of ground beef that tests positive for E. coli. The change is meant to remove contaminated products from the market faster and prevent incidents of contamination from occurring.
“A critical component of preventing foodborne illness is quickly identifying sources of contamination and removing unsafe products from store shelves,” said Brian Ronholm, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety. “The expedited traceback procedures being announced today will allow FSIS to take action more quickly, which will make a significant difference in food safety investigations and in preventing foodborne illnesses.”
FSIS is now conducting immediate investigations at companies where ground beef tests positive for E. coli O157:H7 during initial testing and at suppliers that provided the beef. Until last month, FSIS began traceback investigations at the grinding facility only after initial results were confirmed, which can take two days, and began investigations at suppliers about 30 days after the initial result.
