Big 6 E. Coli Strains Will Be Banned From Ground Beef In March

The USDA will ban the sale of any ground beef tainted with the notorious "Big Six" strains of E. coli starting this March, the New York Times reports. The half dozen join the most common virulent strain of E. coli, O157:H7, which was banned in 1994 after a deadly outbreak of the disease at Jack in the Box restaurants. Once the ban takes effect, meat producers will be required to test their product for all seven strains, and will not be allowed to sell any meat found to harbor them.

The ban applies only to ground beef, beef scraps and machine-tenderized steaks. Among meats that commonly contain E. coli, these are the only ones that are often eaten without first being cooked to the bacteria-eliminating 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Ground beef that tests positive for the bacteria can still be used in cooked meat products, which are usually heated far above the temperature required to kill E. coli. Produce and packaged foods already cannot be sold if they contain disease-containing pathogens. These products are regulated by the FDA, not the USDA, and so are subject to different rules than meat.

Today's ban was widely predicted to be imminent and inevitable in light of this summer's rash of E. coli outbreaks. HuffPost Food reported in late August that the USDA was said to be mulling such a move within the year. Still, ongoing debates over food safety funding in Washington had led some prognosticators to fear the worst, so the announcement came as a relief to many.

The E. coli announcement wasn't even the first food-safety-related news from the USDA this week -- yesterday, the department announced that it would begin testing pork for antibiotics. The USDA will use new, sensitive tests to address a growing fear among consumers and doctors that antibiotic residue in animal products could present risks to human health.

Dr. Barbara Kowalcyk, CEO of the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention, applauded the move in a statement. "Before today’s decision, USDA could not test for these pathogens until after consumers were sickened. This is a huge preventive step to keep products, contaminated by these deadly pathogens, out of our food supply," she said.

Comments

[greenlass]

11:03 AM on 09/14/2011

"After the U.S.D.A. banned the O157 form of E. coli from ground beef in 1994, the meat industry sued to block the move, but the agency prevailed in court."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/business/federal-officials-extend-e-coli-ban.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=e%20coli&st=cse

greed. an appetite not even a big mac can sate.
Organic meat is the way to go.

[Kev Bat]

05:48 PM on 09/13/2011

Let's just hope a tea bagger gets into the big office , dismantles the USDA and bans food regulations and gives the regulation of food over to farm , plant and producer .
Oppps , sorry I was watching " Fringe " and I slipped into an ugly alternate universe !

[greenie69]

04:16 PM on 09/13/2011

having had e coli in August, which put me in the hospital for a week, this is good news. My problem is I am a vegetarian...I think there needs to be some research/studies on how vegetables get contaminated with e coli. The state epidemiologist I spoke with said they just don't know if it gets on the outside of the vegetable (washable) or actually grows up into the plant through the soil. Not to mention, cross contamination from farms and runoff. I wash(ed) all my fruits/veggies (and now with soap!)...and I still became very, very ill. Makes you a little afraid to eat unless you grow it yourself or buy from local farms...I think this is really the only way to make sure your food is safe.

[Fran Jaime]

10:47 PM on 09/13/2011

Wash any veggies that you will eat raw with soap and water, then put them in a glass bowl (never metal) with water and a few drops of water purifier. A few weeks back, I read here on HuffPost that sprouts cannot be cleaned completly. Don't know if it's true but be safe anyway. Hope you are 100% better, now.

[taina2]

02:57 PM on 09/13/2011

Is this put on beef imports too? Foreign beef is still fed tankage that speads the real damger, mad cow disease.

[giftsthatpurr]

02:14 PM on 09/13/2011

Thank you USDA ( and all the other agencies that are keeping us alive and well!)

[Larry Burstein]

04:56 PM on 09/13/2011

A Fart A Fart is good for the heart
It sets the stomach at ease
It warms the bed on a frosty night
And suffocates all the flees

[tjconkster]

01:45 PM on 09/13/2011

RepubliCorp Tea - Vangelical Mantra...screw regulations...afterall..What's a little e-Coli among friends...

[arianaart]

01:23 PM on 09/13/2011

Why wait until March?

[jsarets]

12:40 PM on 09/13/2011

Congress should apply the commerce clause to restrict the sale of raw ground meat across state lines. Meat should be transported in whole cuts and ground locally, preferably at the retail market or local restaurant supply outlet if not by the end users themselves. Trimmings generated by large processors must only be distributed in the form of precooked products.

[pepper1311]

12:01 PM on 09/13/2011

Let the market decide, when ill let the charities take care of you. When I practiced medicine in the 1960's this the way it was.. I'm channeling Ron Paul

[baxtron]

05:06 PM on 09/13/2011

We'll see if you die from a food borne illness before the markets are able to decide.

[pepper1311]

05:59 PM on 09/13/2011

What I notice from the article was this strain has been around for awhile. Seems odd that the CDC is now testing and has banned it.

[sayfthelaith]

11:55 AM on 09/13/2011

Fox News Coverage of This: Obamas regulations have cost thousands of jobs and even more big macs.---------- the big macs will really rile up the base. The demand for big macs will shift right before the regulations take effect, as the rush fans desperately attempt to stock up on tainted meat.

[sayfthelaith]

11:42 AM on 09/13/2011

They are taking away my rights to eat ecoli, yelled the t-bag. All t-bags should be given exclusive rights to eat the tainted meat. It's a win/win. The t-bags get freedom, we all get less t-bags.

[GuddhaVonChuda]

03:34 PM on 09/13/2011

Quit raping donkeys.

[ajm8127]

11:41 AM on 09/13/2011

It's a government conspiracy.

[Aegis13]

11:40 AM on 09/13/2011

It's a good thing we still have the FDA. The Republicans are working hard to get rid of agencies that do little helpful things like making sure you don't get sick.

If we get rid of the FDA and Health Care what will people do when someone else's greed makes them sick?

[jsarets]

12:24 PM on 09/13/2011

This is about the USDA, which has jurisdiction over uncooked meats and other raw produce. The FDA oversees processed foods, for example hot dogs.

[traceymarie]

10:57 PM on 09/13/2011

the bags don't want any regulations

[xstevejx]

03:34 PM on 09/14/2011

Their idea is to make individuals who are harmed by a company have to take the company to court, but also make it harder to even do that. That's why they cry about "trial lawyers" a lot...they want to try to wipe out the legal assistance individuals have (including trying to stop class actions). Apparently corporate lawyers are innocent angels.

[ConGrpThink]

11:36 AM on 09/13/2011

Teabaggers: Get Big Government out of mah food!

[blasthandle]

01:19 PM on 09/13/2011

If you'd ever been sick from tainted food your comment would have been much different.
Go to other parts of the world and see what people go through when there is no oversite on the supply line. If something could kill you, would you knowingly ingest it? Or is a simple lable good enough for you..."This product contains 4 out of 6 strains of ecoli and enough residual antibioducts to weaken your imune system......bon appitate".....

[Fran Jaime]

10:51 PM on 09/13/2011

I think he was being funny.