Industry Leaders Roll Out Standardized Beef Safety Practices

Leaders from every sector of the nation’s beef industry on Nov. 12 released industry-wide standards for best safety and management practices. The Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo) compiled and reviewed the written practices to help the industry reach its goal of reducing and eventually eliminating E. coli O157:H7 from beef.

Specifically, the Best Practices offer guidelines for processing and handling of raw ground beef products as well as slaughter and fabrication safety measures.  In the next few months, additional Best Practices will be completed, which will cover the beef production, retail and foodservice segments of the industry. 

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 a cohesive unit. 

 “This is unprecedented in our industry,” said Dave Theno, Jack in the Box senior vice president of Quality and Logistics. “Companies and operations that are otherwise competitors have come together to share their best work and create a blueprint for the entire beef industry based on what we know as beef manufacturers to be highly effective at reducing E. coli O157:H7. The bottom line is an already safe product will become even safer for consumers.”

These Best Practices were compiled from the safety and management practices of individuals and groups who are already applying them in their own operations and making great strides in combating foodborne pathogens and other food safety issues.  The Best Practices provide concise, practical, universal strategies to industry professionals across the country. 

“We believe our safety systems are strongest when individual solutions are linked so that every sector is erecting the right, most effective hurdles,” said James O. Reagan, Ph.D., chairman of the BIFSCo Steering Committee and NCBA vice president of Research and Knowledge Management.  “As an industry, we are committed to the integration of all sectors because this is what will help us win our battle against foodborne pathogens.”

Earlier this year at the checkoff-funded E. coli Summit held in San Antonio, Texas, more than 200 beef industry leaders from all sectors of the industry collectively pledged to reduce and eventually eliminate E. coli from U.S. beef.  Since the Beef Industry E. coli Summit in January, industry working groups in collaboration with BIFSCo have been working to develop and finalize the Best Practices.

“As an industry, our collective goal has always been to produce wholesome, safe beef for each and every family using the best science and technology available,” said Tim Biela, BIFSCo Steering Committee member and Texas American Foodservice vice president of Food Safety and Quality Assurance.

 “Now, by putting our industry’s best practices on paper for everyone to see and share, we will be even more effective at achieving that goal.”

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.