Food Safety and Inspection Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700

Key Facts: HACCP Final Rule

July 1996

Key Facts: USDA's Food Safety Accomplishments Since 1993

Since a major outbreak of foodborne illness in several western states in 1993 attributed to the presence of the pathogenic bacterium E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef, the Clinton administration, through USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), has focused on the design and implementation of a science-based food safety strategy to reduce the risk of illness caused by bacterial contamination of meat and poultry products.

USDA actions since the outbreak of foodborne illness in western states in January 1993 include the following:

• Initiated unannounced reviews at 1,000 meat and poultry plants nationwide to enforce intensified zero tolerance requirements for fecal contamination on beef products.
• Required safe handling and cooking instructional labels on raw meat and poultry products.
• Introduced a strategy to change meat and poultry inspection from command and control supervision of industry to system that prevents hazards to the food supply from the farm to the table.
• Declared the bacterium E. coli O157:H7 an adulterant in raw ground beef and initiated a nationwide sampling program in federally inspected plants and retail stores that process ground beef.
• Prepared a regulation to overhaul the USDA food safety system by requiring the mandatory implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point systems and testing for bacteria in plants that slaughter and grind meat and poultry for distribution as raw product.
• Accelerated the review of requests for trials of technologies designed to improve food safety in meat and poultry plants.
• Initiated review of process controls used for fermented dry sausage and recommended revisions to industry's Good Manufacturing Practices following an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 linked to the product.
• Increased funding for food safety research, including the development of methods to detect and enumerate E. coli O157:H7.
• Elevated food safety responsibilities in a new sub-Cabinet Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety.
• Established an FSIS liaison at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to assist in tracking foodborne illness trends and causes and established an Epidemiology and Emergency Response Program to investigate foodborne illness outbreaks in conjunction with CDC and the states.
• Initiated an agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration to conduct sentinel site surveys at five locations in the United States. The study will provide much needed baseline data regarding the incidence of foodborne illness, attributable to consumption of meat, poultry and other foods. The study will provide measures for better estimates of the incidence of foodborne illness and provide a baseline to assess the impact of new food safety initiatives.
• Developed public information programs and educational materials such as videos and compact discs for radio stations about safe food handling, targeting specific audiences such as school children, day care centers, pediatricians, fast food restaurant workers, senior citizens, and state and local health departments. Also provided information kits to food and health page editors, magazine editors throughout the country.
• Identified more than 400 pages of burdensome and unnecessary regulations as candidates for elimination or change so that inspectors and plants could focus resources on food safety.

For Further Information Contact:

• Media Inquiries: (202) 720-9113
• Congressional Inquiries: (202) 720-3897
• Constituent Inquiries: (202) 720-8594
• Consumer Inquiries: Call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-800-535-4555; in the Washington, DC area, call (202) 720-3333; TTY: 1-800-256-7072. 

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