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FSIS to Co-Host Public Meeting on the Public Health Significance
of Non-E. coli O157:H7 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli
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Congressional and Public Affairs
Bridgette Keefe (202) 720-9113
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2007 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for
Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), today announced
a public meeting to solicit input on the public health significance of various strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli).
Currently only one strain, E. coli O157:H7 is considered an adulterant in meat. The CDC has reported
an increase in the number of non-O157:H7 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infections from 2000 to 2005.
Outbreaks from these organisms have been reported in the U.S. since 1990, and foodborne exposures have been
suspected in many of these outbreaks.
The purpose of the meeting is to solicit input from academia, consumers, other public health and regulatory
agencies and industry on the issue of whether non-O157:H7 STECs should be considered to be adulterants as
E. coli O157:H7.
The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the George
Mason University Arlington campus, 3401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 244, Arlington, Va., 22201.
To pre-register to attend in person or via teleconference, visit FSIS' Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov or
contact Sheila Johnson at (202) 690-6498 or by e-mail at
Sheila.Johnson@fsis.usda.gov.
The agenda and other related will be available prior to the meeting on the FSIS Web site at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/.
All interested parties are welcome to submit comments by Oct. 15 to Dr. Denise Eblen by phone (202) 690-6238, fax
(202) 690-6364, e-mail Denise.Eblen@fsis.usda.gov,
or by mail to U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Office of Public Health Science,
1400 Independence Ave, SW, 357 Aerospace Center, Washington, DC 20250. Persons requiring a sign language
interpreter or other special accommodations should notify Dr. Eblen by Oct. 10.
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Last Modified:
October 6, 2007 |
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