New York Times Questions Safety of Ammonia-Treated Beef
The New York Times recently published an investigative report that questions the safety of beef processed with ammonia to kill E. coli and Salmonella. According to the article, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has exempted one company, Beef Products Inc. (BPI), from routine testing requirements since 2007 because the processor apparently claimed that its ammonia treatment destroyed pathogens “to
an undetectable level.”
A supplier for fast-food chains and the school lunch program, BPI also purportedly indicated that its ammoniated trimmings, when mixed with untreated meat, would sterilize ground beef. “Given the technology, we firmly believe that the two pathogens of major concern—E. coli O157:H7 and salmonella—are on the verge of elimination,” BPI founder Eldon Roth allegedly told USDA in 2001.
“But government and industry records obtained by The New York Times show that in testing for the school lunch program, E. coli and salmonella pathogens have been found dozens of times in Beef Products meat,” maintains the report, noting that “Since 2005, E. coli has been found 3 times and salmonella 48 times, including back-to-back incidents in August in which two 27,000-pounds batches were found
to be contaminated.”
The Times uses the BPI case to highlight a “schism” between the main Agriculture Department and its school lunch program, which in cases of contamination barred the product from schools but failed to notify other USDA officials, thus allowing the meat to infiltrate the general market. The report states that, in addition to revoking BPI’s testing exemption, “Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has since directed school lunch officials to share information about their suspensions with the department’s meat safety division.”
The article further criticizes regulators for not requiring BPI to list ammonia as an ingredient despite one Agriculture Marketing Service memo concluding that the “product should be labeled accordingly.” Because customers did not anticipate the ammonia odor, BPI has reportedly fielded several complaints about the taste and smell of the beef and has since acknowledged creating a less alkaline version to improve palatability. As USDA subsequently told The Times, the agency has “determined that ‘at least some of BPI’s product was no longer receiving the full lethality treatment’” and has pledged to ensure that future industry innovations “are scientifically sound and protect public
health.” See The New York Times, December 31, 2009.
Meanwhile, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has echoed the report’s call for government intervention. “It is the USDA’s responsibility to keep our nation’s food supply safe, and steps need to be taken to ensure that this goal is met,” stated DeLauro, further urging the agency “to meet to this goal by re-examining this questionable treatment and discontinuing all government contracts with Beef Packers, Inc., and to improve their internal coordination.” See DeLauro Press Release, December 31, 2009.
