FSIS Holds Meeting to Discuss E. Coli Traceability Standards

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) held a March 10, 2010, public meeting to discuss agency procedures “for identifying suppliers of source material used to produce raw beef product that FSIS has found positive for Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7.” FSIS announced the meeting as part of its ongoing efforts to evaluate “the effectiveness of its policies and procedures in responding to findings that raw beef is positive for E. coli O157:H7.” In particular, FSIS intends to issue “new instructions to Enforcement, Investigations, and Analysis Officers (EIAOs) to conduct additional verification activities at suppliers in response to positive E. coli O157:H7 results.” The agency will accept public input on these issues until May 7, 2010. See FSIS Press Release, March 3, 2010; Federal Register, March 8, 2010.