USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) announced this week that they will consider not only E. coli O157 an adulterant in non-intact raw beef products and product components, but six other serogroups of E. coli as well.

FSIS said they intend to carry out verification procedures, including sampling and testing manufacturing trim and other raw ground beef product components to ensure control of not only E. coli O157 but the additional six serogroups as well.  FSIS said they intend to implement routine testing for the six additional serogroups beginning March 5, 2012, following the comment period on the Federal Register notice.

To allow industry time to implement possible changes to food safety systems, FSIS will generally not regard raw, non-intact beef products or the components of such products found to have these pathogens as adulterated until it begins this routine testing.  FSIS will affirm, in an additional Federal Register notice, the date that it plans to implement sampling and testing.