Meat&Poultry - November 2014 - 14

Washington
BY BERNARD SHIRE

meatpoultry@sosland.com

Tracing back contamination
A

fter what has turned out to be

ments and supermarkets, asked the

to make comments will result in a better rule to operate under.

a surprisingly long time, meat

US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) for,

processors and retail stores that grind

and received, an extension of the com-

In a sense, this reaction from the

beef will now have to maintain records

ment period proposed in August. The

industry is nothing new. There previ-

showing where they get their beef from

proposal would require meat proces-

ously have been complaints about the

and how these sources of beef can be

sors and retailers that grind raw-beef

costs of implementing new rules and

contacted. That is if a proposed gov-

products for sale to keep more detailed

regulations because the regulated in-

ernment rule to this effect makes it

records about their beef-grinding ac-

dustry has to shoulder and live with

through the regulatory process.

tivities, including disclosing who their

those costs. Whereas the regulators,

But what industry sees as high costs

suppliers are for all the material they

the government, impose the costs, but

being imposed on inspected meat-pro-

use in preparation of each lot of raw

don't have to shoulder the burden.

cessing establishments and on retail

beef. Their records must also contain

Objections include: (1) More mon-

stores that grind beef have drawn an

contact information for these suppliers.

ey for new technology and recordkeep-

outcry from three industry trade as-

USDA's Food Safety and Inspec-

ing; (2)Training of additional employ-

sociations: the National Grocers As-

tion Service, the regulators of the meat

ees and management; and (3)Major

sociation (NGA), the American Meat

and poultry industry, have given the

changes in meat departments.

Institute (AMI) and the North Ameri-

industry an extra month to advance

These industry objections sound a

can Meat Association (NAMA).

arguments against the government

lot like the concerns voiced about the

These three associations, repre-

plan. The three associations claim the

new HACCP rule when it was pro-

senting federally inspected establish-

new rules are a burden on industry. In-

posed almost 20 years ago. These ob-

The idea of this
proposed new rule is to
make it easier to trace
back sources of E. coli
O157:H7 contamination
in ground beef.

dustry says the government is underes-

jections to perceived costs of tracking

timating the costs involved in keeping

ground-beef suppliers have as much

these records. And some retailers are

chance of flying as did cost objections

saying the costs would prevent them

to HACCP back in 1995. After all,

from continuing to provide consum-

the idea of this proposed new rule is

ers with beef freshly ground in stores.

to make it easier to trace back sources

In particular, NGA says the pro-

of E. coli O157:H7 contamination in

posed rule will have the greatest nega-

ground beef in places where most of

tive impact on independent supermar-

the processing takes place. Industry

kets that are not part of national store

may be successful in getting USDA to

chains. "NGA member stores employ

tweak the proposal to a degree.

knowledgeable butchers who cut and

If industry wants to convince the

grind ground beef fresh in-store mul-

public it is concerned about its custom-

tiple times a day, often at customer

ers, especially when it comes to food

requests," NGA says.

safety, harping about the costs of new

The trade group wants to be able to

recordkeeping requirements may not

convey to USDA the impact the rule

be the best way to do it. That USDA

would have on its members' opera-

took this step by proposing this rule

tions. In its statement, the NGA em-

is no great surprise. What is surpris-

phasized it is not backing away from

ing is that it was so long in coming. ■

its commitment to food safety, rather
the trade group believes giving it and
the other trade associations more time

14

* Meat&Poultry * November 2014 * www.MeatPoultry.com

Bernard Shire is a contributing editor based in
Lancaster, Pa. He also works as a food safety
consultant with Shire and Associates.
http://www.MeatPoultry.com
Meat&Poultry - November 2014

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