E. coli Happenings

Following a recent story in The New York Times titled “E. coli path shows flaws in beef inspection” there has been a flurry of statements and proposals by various agencies to help the public understand what is being done to ensure the safety of ground beef. This has ranged from the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, to the president of the American Meat Institute commenting on what both government and private industry are doing to take action. Additionally, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is planning to introduce the “E.coli eradication act” which is legislation requiring all ground beef facilities to test product regularly both before and after it is ground. To read more about these latest happenings visit http://tinyurl.com/yh3547j and to read the article that started all the recent activity click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

Idaho Technology, Inc. is also committed to helping eradicate foodborne pathogens and recently released our AOAC approved E. coli O157:H7 kit which uses real-time PCR technology to rapidly identify the presence of E. coli O157:H7 in raw ground beef and uncooked spinach in less than an hour after only 8 hours of enrichment. To read more about our food security system please visit: http://www.idahotech.com/FoodSecurity/

Food Safety Tip: Cook or freeze fresh poultry, fish, ground meats, and variety meats within 2 days; other beef, veal, lamb or pork, within 3 to 5 days.