Risks On The Farm

Escherichia coli O157:H7

(www.epa.gov 2007)

• Gram negative bacteria
• Produces dangerous shiga-like toxin because it picked up genetic material from Shigella
• Very low infectious dose of less than 10 cells
• 73,000 cases each year in the United States
• 2,100 hospitalizations
• 61 deaths
• People who are most at risk are children, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals.
• Long-term illnesses associated with this pathogen are hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and thrombocytopenic purpura ( TTP).

E. coli O157:H7 in Beef Cattle

• Cattle are the primary reservoir and are asymptomatic carriers.
• The bacteria lives and thrives in the intestinal tract of healthy cattle.
• The number of individual infected animals at one time is relatively low.
• Shedding of O157:H7 can be intermittent thus making testing and removal control programs very difficult.
• However, there has been recent testing in facilities nation wide which has lessened foodborne illness occurrences.
• Other measures of mitigation include culling sick animals, good farm sanitation and proper handling techniques

 

 

 

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)

• Carried by prions which are proteinaceous infectious particles
• Can be transferred vertically or iatrogenically
• Causes neurodegenerative disease with long incubation times but is inevitably fatal

 

BSE in Beef Cattle

(www.peta.org )

• Cattle can become infected by eating contaminated feed containing a BSE agent.
• In 1997 the USFDA prohibited the use of mammalian protein in the making of animal feed. This was the Ruminant Feed ban.
• The typical symptoms of infected cattle are the inability to stand, signs of a CNS disorder, emaciation and death.
• Though there is an enhanced BSE testing program in place there is no test that can detect BSE in a live animal.
• Only postmortem examinations of brain tissue and techniques such as the ELISA test are used to diagnose BSE.
• It is not yet proven that BSE leads to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD or nvCJD) in humans, but it is believed to be the precursor.

 

 

 

 

Processing (slaughter and package/transport)

 

(www.britannica.com)

• Incorrect processing, packaging, and transport can lead to meat that is contaminated with microscopic pathogens that will cause illness
• No food is risk free
• Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) are the activities that producers undertake that lead to a safer product, environment, and consumer—cleanliness and decreased to stress to animals, for example
• Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP—pronounced hassip)
• Target key areas in production of meat that are more likely to lead to contamination
• Seven principles:
• Analyze hazards
• Identify critical control points
• Establish preventive measures with critical limits for each control point
• Establish procedures to monitor the critical control points
• Establish corrective actions to be taken when monitoring shows that a critical limit has not been met
• Establish procedures to verify that the system is working properly
• Establish effective recordkeeping to document the HACCP system
• (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/bghaccp.html)
• During slaughter it is important for the workers to understand the food safety issues associated with meat
• Education programs on food safety for workers
• Basic knowledge on cleanliness and proper handling
• Clean and sanitize meat in processing
• Remove obvious particles
• Immerse in 171 °F water for 30 seconds
• Treat with a chemical sanitizing agent (organic acids, etc.)
• (http://www.beeffoodservice.com/CMDocs/BFS/Beef_Storage_&_Handling.pdf)
• Irradiation of meat
• Approved for meat in December 1997 by FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
• Does not affect nutrition, taste, or texture of products
• Does not pose a threat to people because of low levels
• (http://www.beeffoodservice.com/pdf/beef_irradiation.pdf)
• After processing meat is transported to various stores or further processing
• Must remain cold (41 °F or below with the best storage temperatures between 28-32 °F)
• Minimize length of trip—deliver locally

 

Consumer Safety

• The most important intervention is consumer education.
• Ways to keep your food safe from bacteria:
• Wash hands before and after handling food
• Use warm water to moisten hands, apply soap, rub hands together for 20 seconds (say ABC’s), rinse thoroughly
• Keep raw food separate from cooked food
• Never re-plate cooked food on a plate raw food touched
• Keep beef products frozen or refrigerated
• Defrost in a cool area, not at room temperature
• Cook meat to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit
• Use a meat thermometer
• Insert into thickest part of meat, or sideways in a ground beef patty
• Clean with hot, soapy water after each use
• (www.beefsafety.org)
• Measure the temperature of meat not the color

 

• For more food safety information call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline toll-free at 888-MPHOTLINE