Marler Blog - USDA had been Warned of E. coli Risk of Mechanically Tenderized Steak - Comments http://www.marlerblog.com/ Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Bill Marler : Marler Clark en Copyright 2012 Wed, 16 May 2012 04:37:07 -0800 Wed, 16 May 2012 04:37:07 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.32-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss DSmith Dear Mr. Marler,
I think it is time we mandated irradiation of all comminuted, ground, and otherwise mechanically altered meats produced in very large lots. The argument that this would lead to us eating sterilized bovine feces ("zapping the crap") is a red herring. No matter how cautious and meticulous slaughter house employees are, there will always be some level of contamination on the kill floor. With EC O157:H7, specks of dust would be sufficient to seed a carcass with sufficient pathogens to kill a child.

Kenneth Petersen was recently excoriated for his statement about needing to consider both public health and the health of businesses, but the reality is that we constantly balance safety and cost. Irradiation can provide a tremendous improvement in public safety at a reasonable cost. We are foolish not to take advantage of it. As for what lot size should trigger mandatory irradiation, I'm not sure, but it should be big enough so that small establishments are are not forced into it. These small operations are vital to many farm communities and are already struggling to comply with current regulations.

]]> http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/usda-had-been-warned-of-e-coli-risk-of-mechanically-tenderized-steak/#9339 http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/usda-had-been-warned-of-e-coli-risk-of-mechanically-tenderized-steak/#9339 Case News Sun, 27 Dec 2009 06:52:53 -0800 marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Lawyer) Carl Custer Guess my time line from 2002 to 2009 was too long.
A one sentence summary could be:
“Cook the mechanically tenderized thoroughly and all is safe, besides there are insufficient bodies for FSIS to take action.� Sounds like 1989-1993 and ground beef.
The time line included quotes from reports by NACMCF, the HACCP Alliance, National Cattlemen's.
FDA 2003 "The whole issue of whether meats are injected or pinned gives us great heartburn because we can't tell from the label (or lack thereof) what process, if any, has been applied to the meat."
FSIS' upper management July 2003:"the Department will not support us regarding rulemaking or stronger public health messages (for the non-marinated product)."

]]> http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/usda-had-been-warned-of-e-coli-risk-of-mechanically-tenderized-steak/#9340 http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/usda-had-been-warned-of-e-coli-risk-of-mechanically-tenderized-steak/#9340 Case News Sun, 27 Dec 2009 06:52:53 -0800 marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Lawyer) John Munsell First of all, the come has come for irradiation, even the low dose/low penetration type. Appropriate labeling must be used, to enable consumers to purchase the safer type of products if desired. The product mentioned to above which sometimes experiences "three passes" is known as a cube steak, also called a chicken fry and a number of other names. Restaurants know which items are cube steaks, and can adjust cooking times accordingly. Many household consumers do not know the processing background of cube steaks, and would benefit from labeling and consumer education. D Smith's comment above refers to small plants which are already struggling. The most important thing about small slaughter establishments is that their snail-paced kill floors allow employees and inspectors to visually detect and remove visible pathogens, and hand spraying carcasses with water is much more thorough and effective at the small plants than the automated systems at the fast-paced large facilities. At the NMA annual convention in 2004 ? a packer related how a pipe in their automated water spraying cabinet was cracked, manure got into the crack, and as a result, pathogens were being sprayed onto all subsequent carcasses. Even the most sophistocated kill floor interventions have problems. So, I don't argue that irradiation should not be mandated at small plants because the plants are already struggling, but because the slow speed at small plants effectively removes bacteria on their kill floor. These small plants do NOT have the systemic pathogen problems inherent in the large, fast-speed slaughter behemoths. John Munsell

]]> http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/usda-had-been-warned-of-e-coli-risk-of-mechanically-tenderized-steak/#9341 http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/usda-had-been-warned-of-e-coli-risk-of-mechanically-tenderized-steak/#9341 Case News Sun, 27 Dec 2009 06:52:53 -0800 marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Lawyer) John Munsell An existing USDA/FSIS policy exacerbates the E.coli problem for public health. The agency allows slaughter plants to ship into commerce INTACT meat cuts which are surface-contaminated with E.coli. When downstream facilities either pin (needle) or cube the intact cuts, the invisible exterior pathogens are then transferred into the interior of the meat. Once the E.coli are INSIDE the meat, the agency then declares these previously harmless bacteria to be adulterants, and accuses the further processing facility of being noncompliant with meat inspection requirements. And, USDA refuses to go back to the source of contamination (the slaughter plant) to require changes, which means that no corrective actions are accomplished at the source. This virtually guarantees ongoing outbreaks and recurring recalls. Sound familiar? The very fact that USDA allows slaughter facilities to ship into commerce meat that is surface-contaminated with E.coli, and labeled with the official USDA Mark of Inspection, reveals the agency's "relationship" with the big packers, and the agency's lack of commitment to public health. Furthermore, the current administration has yet to name a USDA Undersecretary for its Food Safety Inspection Service, which seems to indicate that even the White House is perfectly content to maintain the failed status quo, and lacks the courage to challenge the biggest packers. John Munsell

]]> http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/usda-had-been-warned-of-e-coli-risk-of-mechanically-tenderized-steak/#9342 http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/usda-had-been-warned-of-e-coli-risk-of-mechanically-tenderized-steak/#9342 Case News Sun, 27 Dec 2009 06:52:53 -0800 marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Lawyer) Bix John ... been enjoying your comments. Very informative.

(I tweeted the Pres @BarackObama to name a FSIS chief. I would love him to get tens of thousands of similar tweets.)

]]> http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/usda-had-been-warned-of-e-coli-risk-of-mechanically-tenderized-steak/#9343 http://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/usda-had-been-warned-of-e-coli-risk-of-mechanically-tenderized-steak/#9343 Case News Sun, 27 Dec 2009 06:52:53 -0800 marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Lawyer)