E. coli-triggered recall sparks tighter contamination control measures at ConAgra

09/01/2002

By Mark A. DeSorbo

GREELEY, CO-The second largest meat recall-19 million pounds of ground beef from ConAgra Co. -continues after officials from the food processor and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) discovered it might not only be contaminated with the E. coli pathogen, but also found its way to grocery cases and dinner tables around the country.

At press time, inmates at three Colorado prisons had been served the possibly tainted meat, while 28 people had fallen ill in California, Colorado, Michigan, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming. While many were hospitalized, all were treated and released, says Jim Herlihy, vice president of communications for ConAgra's Beef and Pork groups.

"We are continuing to bring back product and we have enhanced our testing protocols by increasing frequency," says Herlihy, adding that it was "too soon to tell" if there was a breech in contamination control protocols at the Greeley plant.

In the past, ConAgra randomly tested about 30 percent of its product lots, but in July it began testing 100 percent of all its ground beef and trimmings lots, which are sent to customers who grind their own hamburger.

"We are testing samples of 100 percent of the lots we produced," Herlihy says. "We're looking for the presence of bacteria. By testing every lot, we will now be able to have much more control. This is one more step that we can add to our safety processes."

The recall has also caused ConAgra to adopt other protocols as testing cattle carcasses and administering a natural feeding additive, Pro-biotics, that combats pathogens in the stomachs of livestock.

"The additive uses the bacteria in yogurt, and when it's put into feed, it can reduce pathogens in the stomach by up to 50 percent," Herlihy says.

In addition, ConAgra is also using a four-step process to treat and eliminate pathogens in livestock carcasses. First, a carcass is "steam-vacuumed," a form of steam sterilization that is used throughout the plant wherever knives or machines are used. Then, it is pre-washed with an organic acid that reduces such pathogens as Listeria, Salmonella and E. coli. The carcass is then thermally pasteurized in excess of 160 degrees for five seconds-another lethal whack to bacteria. The fourth and final step is a thermal organic rinse. Once a carcass has gone through the four-step process, it can then go into the cooler for chilling.

"On one hand, we look at the live animal," Herlihy says. Then, we have a multiple-hurdle intervention system."

Meat is most often contaminated while livestock carcasses are skinned and gutted. E. coli and other pathogens can escape from animal intestines, while bacteria from fecal matter on the carcass enters skin and penetrates muscle, thus contaminating the meat.

The USDA was notified July 10 of the E. coli illness outbreak in Colorado, and immediately sent a team of inspectors to Greeley, Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman says.

The action, she explains, was taken as a cautionary measure to ensure "the protection of public health." The recall was also the second largest in U.S. history. The largest recall of beef, 25 million pounds produced by Hudson Foods in 1997, sparked a Congressional effort to increase the number of inspections and tighten safety standards in meat packing plants. That effort was blocked by the meat industry.

Although the USDA did approve the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system in 1998 for slaughterhouses, packing plants and other food industry environments, the USDA does not have the legal authority to close packing plants with repeated health violations or impose fines. In addition, every recall has to be voluntary. The department can, however, act against shoddy plants by removing inspectors and refusing to certify meat.

"ConAgra has been very cooperative throughout this review process," Veneman says.

ConAgra has also enlisted the expertise of Mansour Samadpour, a nationally renowned molecular biologist from the University of Washington's School of Public Health and Community Medicine.

"He's working with us to evaluate our protocols and microbiology practices," Herlihy adds. "We're looking at different approaches to this recall. It's a comprehensive approach."