USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will begin testing raw beef manufacturing trim for the six additional strains.
Illnesses due to E. coli serogroups other than O157:H7, which caused a high-profile illness outbreak in 1993, outnumber those attributed to O157:H7. FSIS declared O157:H7 an adulterant in 1994.
“These strains of E. coli are an emerging threat to human health and the steps we are taking today are entirely focused on preventing Americans from suffering food borne illnesses,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in an agency news release. “We cannot ignore the evidence that these pathogens are a threat in our nation’s food supply.”
For more information, visit www.fsis.usda.gov.