Beef Industry Leaders Encouraged By Significant Reduction in E. coli Incidence

Beef industry leaders today welcomed news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that the overall incidence of E. coli O157:H7 cases declined dramatically in 2003.

Working in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the CDC found that E. coli O157:H7 incidence declined 36 percent last year compared to the previous year, and the overall incidence of E. coli O157:H7 cases has declined 42 percent since 1996.

“This is great news for consumers and encouraging for the beef industry. Seeing these numbers shows to everyone involved in fighting E. coli – from the farm to the kitchen – that strategies being put into place are having a positive effect on public health,” said Mike Engler, PhD., Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo) Steering Committee member and President of Cactus Feeders.  “We will continue to work with all sectors of the beef chain to share and implement best practices from across the industry so beef is even safer.”

Since the E.coli Summit in January 2003, the Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo), which is funded by beef producers with checkoff dollars, has been working toward compiling best practices from across the beef industry, which includes sharing strategies among competitors.  Through this effort, all sectors of the beef industry have been working toward the goal of improving safety – from cow-calf producers and feedlot operators, to packers and processors, to retailers and foodservice providers.

“Last year, every sector of the beef industry came together and pledged to work cooperatively to reduce and eventually eliminate E. coli O157:H7 in the beef supply. While we still have a lot of work to do, it’s promising to see these figures and know we’re moving in the right direction,” said James O. Reagan, Ph.D., Chairman, BIFSCo Steering Committee and Vice President of Research and Knowledge Management, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Checkoff funded research continues to show promise for interventions such as thermal pasteurization, feed additives and animal and carcass washes that eliminate or reduce pathogen presence. Specific direct-fed microbials, such as probiotics have been proven to reduce E. coli prevalence.  For example, a recent beef checkoff-funded study found that cattle fed probiotics had 71 percent less E. coli O157:H7 presence than the control group.

In February, BIFSCo issued a resource guide that has been distributed to beef producers.  While several promising interventions require more research, the guide specifically defines several best management practices that work toward one of the industry’s fundamental goals of ensuring animal health and providing a safe product for consumers. The guide includes best practices for maintaining clean feed, water and environment and checkoff-funded research findings on intervention options for reducing prevalence of the pathogen in livestock.

Funded by beef producers with checkoff dollars, BIFSCo brings together representatives from all sectors of the beef industry – including cow/calf producers, feedlot operators, packers, processors, retailers and foodservice operators – to battle the industry’s most complex food safety issues as one cohesive unit. 

All of the Best Practices are available on the BIFSCo Web site as they are completed (www.bifsco.org).  These are living documents that will be updated and reviewed as scientific and technological advances are made.