Last week’s Beef Industry Safety Summit in Orlando, Fla., included a discussion of the great strides the industry has made in reducing E. coli. Incidence of E.Coli in ground beef was reduced by 43 percent in 2004 and by 80 percent since 2000, explains Roger West, a Florida rancher and chairman of the beef industry’s Research and Knowledge Management Committee.      

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In addition to the good news on E. coli, West says the meeting covered many other food safety issues.

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West said the safety summit attracted a wide audience from across the beef industry, and that the industry hopes its continued refinement of Best Practices in safety will help maintain strong consumer confidence in the safety of beef.    

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The national Beef Checkoff Program is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, a group of 108 beef producers appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture.  They represent producers from coast-to-coast and volunteer their time to help identify programs that can help increase beef demand.  The checkoff was created in the 1985 Farm Bill, with oversight provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.