FSIS Sampling Shows E. coli Downward Trend

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has released data showing a drop in the number of E. coli O157:H7 positive samples in ground beef collected to date in 2003 compared with past years. 

Of the samples collected and analyzed through Aug. 31, 0.32 percent tested positive for E. coli O157:H7, down from 0.78 in 2002 and 0.84 in 2001.  In 2000, after the agency began using a much more sensitive test, 0.86 percent of samples tested positive.  

In October 2002, FSIS ordered all beef plants to re-examine their food safety plans, based on evidence that E. coli O157:H7 is a hazard reasonably likely to occur and to implement interventions to prevent it. A majority of plants have made changes to their operations.