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Script: askFSIS – Questions on E. coli 0157:H7 |
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Intro:
Welcome to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service
podcast. Each episode will bring you cutting edge news and information
about how FSIS is working to ensure public health protection
through food safety. While we’re on the job, you can rest assured
that your meat, poultry, and processed egg products are safe,
wholesome, properly labeled, and packaged correctly. So turn
up your volume and listen in.
Host:
Hello and welcome. I’m Sheila Johnson from FSIS and today I’m going to review another
commonly asked question from askFSIS. More and more questions and answers are posted
every week, so check it out on our web site,
www.fsis.usda.gov.
You can access it right from the home page. On the right side of the screen is a box with the words “I Want To.” Within that box is the link labeled “Ask FSIS an Inspection Related Question.” Just click on that link and it takes you directly to askFSIS.
Alright, let’s get to the question. The topic is E. coli O157:H7.
Let’s say an establishment finds raw ground beef or raw beef product intended for use in raw ground beef product positive or presumptive positive (and does not confirm the product negative) for
E. coli O157:H7.
The establishment then labels the product with an instructional statement such as “for cooking only” and
sends the product to a cooking establishment for further processing to destroy the pathogen.
In this situation, is the establishment that produced the positive or presumptive positive product
required to obtain records from the cooking establishment documenting that the product received
proper disposition?
The answer is:
Yes. Raw ground beef, other non-intact raw beef product, and intact beef product intended to be used for raw ground beef or other non-intact raw beef product that is positive or presumptive positive (and not confirmed negative) for
E. coli O157:H7 is adulterated unless it is further processed to destroy the pathogen.
Establishment records and HACCP documents, for example, the flow chart and hazard analysis
for intact product such as beef manufacturing trimmings, should indicate whether the product is
intended for use in raw, non-intact beef product.
If an establishment produces raw beef product that is adulterated because it is E. coli O157:H7
positive or presumptive positive and sends that product to another official establishment, landfill operation,
or renderer, the establishment that produced the product must obtain and keep records documenting that
the product received proper disposition from the official establishment, landfill operation, or renderer where
disposition occurred.
Documentation that the product went to an inspected facility that ordinarily cooks the product, and
records of receipt from such a facility, are not sufficient documentation that the product actually received
proper disposition. Rather, the establishment that produced the positive or presumptive positive product
must obtain records evidencing that the product was appropriately processed.
The HACCP regulations require that establishments maintain records evidencing proper disposal or
disposition of beef product that is adulterated because the product is
E. coli O157:H7 positive or presumptive positive (and not confirmed negative).
Thank you for listening. If you have any questions regarding the policy presented in
this podcast, you can send your questions to askFSIS or call 1-800-233-3935.
Outro:
Well, that’s all for this episode. We’d like your feedback
on our podcast. Or if you have ideas for future podcasts, send
us an e-mail at
podcast@fsis.usda.gov. To learn more about food
safety, try our web site at
www.fsis.usda.gov.
Thanks for tuning in.
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