000267 Most U.S. Ground Beef Tainted with E. Coli

Washington - Most raw U.S. meat processed into ground beef patties may be tainted with tiny amounts of the illness-causing E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria, according to a draft study released by Agriculture Department scientists.

The new estimate adds to the growing evidence that the sometimes-deadly bug is much more common in live cattle and carcasses than previously believed by federal regulators.

American consumer groups have stepped up pressure for the USDA to require the meat industry to adopt testing throughout the production and distribution chain, a move opposed by firms who say broad testing will not make food safer.

An estimated 89% of U.S. beef ground into patties contains some E. coli 0157:H7, although the actual amount may be extremely small, said Mark Powell, an epidemiologist with the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The bacteria is one of the deadliest forms of foodborne illness, causing fever, bloody diarrhea and even kidney failure. Outbreaks of E. coli 0157:H7 are most often linked to undercooked hamburgers, and usually affect small children, the elderly and others with weak immune systems.

The Centers for Disease Control estimate 52 Americans die annually from food with the bacteria, and 62,000 others are sickened.

E. COLI UBIQUITOUS IN HAMBURGER

“The bottom line is that E. coli 0157:H7 is pretty ubiquitous in ground beef, but at very, very low levels,” Powell said at a USDA meeting to present a draft assessment of how risky ground beef is for consumers. The document, which will be finalized and made public this spring, is expected to help guide any changes in the USDA's meat safety standards.

The 89% prevalence rate applies to huge batches of raw meat -- typically 3,000 pounds or more -- mixed together before being ground into hamburger, Powell said. Each of the batches may contain less than 100 of the microscopic E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria.

“It may be a small amount but in the right temperature conditions, that rate could rapidly increase,” Powell said. Fewer than 10 of the organisms can cause illness.

Meat industry officials at the meeting disputed the estimate as based on faulty data. They said it did not reflect rigorous testing by meat grinders who produce patties for restaurant chains and other buyers with high standards.

But consumer groups point to the data as yet another reason why more safety testing is needed all along the production line by both the government and meat plants.

“Like throwing darts at a dart board, although the government hits the target occasionally, it is clearly missing a lot of the problem,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “The (testing) program is not systematic.”

The meat industry said it wants to focus on preventive measures to control E. coli 0157:H7, but acknowledged there may be a role for more testing in the slaughterhouse.

STEAM, ACID RINSES KILL BUG

The American Meat Institute, a trade group, said a new industry-funded study showed a series of steps in beef packing plants were effective in killing the bacteria.

Fewer than 1% of carcasses treated with organic acid, steam or hot water rinses had E. coli 0157:H7, compared to 3.5% before the treatments, the study said.

If the USDA required systematic carcass testing for the bacteria, slaughter plants could remove contaminated ones before they are processed into meat, the industry group said.

“It is our hope that this data will encourage USDA to reevaluate its ground beef sampling program,” said Jim Hodges, president of the American Meat Institute Foundation. “A carcass testing program for E. coli 0157:H7 is more practical and will help ensure that the safest and most wholesome product possible enters commerce.”

The new USDA estimate of contamination in raw meat destined for ground beef adds to growing data that E. coli 0157:H7 is not as rare as regulators once thought.

USDA researchers in Nebraska last autumn found the bug in 50% of feedlot cattle being fattened for slaughter during summer months. The rate plunged to 1% in winter months for reasons scientists cannot yet explain.

A new tool to stop contamination was offered by California researchers who said a naturally-occurring protein in cow's milk can be sprayed on raw meat to starve the bacteria.

The use of lactoferrin as a protective shield on meat for humans mimics how the same protein protects young calves from harmful bacteria while their own immune systems develop, said Narain Naidu of California State Polytechnic in Pomona.

“This is a natural food safety solution,” said Naidu, who is asking for approval to try the treatment at a commercial ground beef plant. “It's consumer- and producer-friendly.”

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