Food Irradiation Update is published by the Minnesota Beef Council

Quotable Quotes:
"Let me suggest 8 specific steps the Federal Government and the USDA should make:
1. Immediately approve all viable kill steps, starting with irradiation
2. Declare all STEC’s to be contaminants
3. Combine all government organizations with food inspection duties into one agency
4. Fund the new food inspection super group with enough money to do the job properly
5. Staff the group with enough trained personnel to inspect every food processing facility at least once a year
6. Make sure no one associated with the new group has any ties to food processing companies or food processing trade associations
6. Give the group the authority to demand an immediate recall
7. Stiffen penalties for knowingly shipping contaminated product – not with fines but with jail time for top management
8. Dr. Hagen should make developing tests to rapidly identify STEC’s her first priority as she begins to take charge of her long-neglected office."
Chuck Jolley; free lance writer, based in Kansas City, who covers a wide range of agriculture and food topics.

In This Update:
FSIS recalls 4 ton of meat 2 months too late
What's the public's temperature for final "kill" steps in food?
Will E. Coli O126 recall lead to tighter rules?
USDA gives green light to Pakistan Mango imports:
People still sick in Ontario from E. coli O157:H7 but no details
Gamma irradiation plant construction accelerated

Important Food Safety Links:
Kansas State University
Marler Blog
Food Irradiation Processors Alliance (FIPA)

The monolithic recall of eggs due to salmonella contamination was a lead story in late August.  Hillandale Farms, of Iowa (like Wright County Egg Co.), voluntarily recalled more than 500 million eggs that it sent to 14 states, stating that “laboratory-confirmed illnesses” had been associated with the eggs.  Federal officials followed Hillendale's announcement with the clarification that, in addition to Wright County Egg's eggs, Hillendale's eggs were, in part, the cause of the large national salmonella outbreak that has sickened close to 2,000 people in multiple states since May. Read more here....
Additional articles on this subject:
Pointing Fingers in Egg Recall

William Neuman of the New York Times writes that for the first time in the U.S., public health officials have linked ground beef to illnesses from a rare strain of E. coli, adding fuel to an already fierce debate over expanding federal rules meant to keep the toxic bacteria out of the meat supply.

Cargill Meat Solutions recalled 8,500 pounds of hamburger on Saturday after investigators determined that it was the likely source of a bacterial strain known as E. coli O26, which had sickened three people in Maine and New York.

Under federal rules, it is illegal to sell ground beef containing a more common strain of the bacteria, E. coli O157:H7, which has been responsible for thousands of illnesses, many deaths and the recall of millions of pounds of beef over the years. But federal regulators are now considering whether to give the same illegal status to at least six other E. coli strains, including O26, which can also make people violently sick. Read more here.....

Additional articles on this subject:
Irradiation will kill the bugs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has given the green light to fresh mango imports from Pakistan. Mangoes must be irradiated at a facility certified by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service before entering the U.S., according to an agency news release.

On June 16, the USDA completed a pest-risk assessment that opened the door for Pakistani fruit, pending the results of a 60-day comment period. Volumes are expected to be modest. In 2009, Thailand shipped 1,267 metric tons of irradiated mangoes to the U.S., and India 300 metric tons. Both countries were approved for imports in 2007.

http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/blog/144022/10/09/09/people-still-sick-ontario-e-coli-o157h7-no-details-more-beef-recalled
Canadian health authorities still won’t reveal how many people are sick in Ontario, as part of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. Useful information like geographic location, date of onset and other public health basics that may limit additional illnesses is being withheld. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will only say it “is aware of an E. coli O157:H7 illness outbreak in Ontario.”
Last night, CFIA did tell the public not to eat Leadbetters Cowboy Beef Burgers, sold frozen in 2.27 Kg (5 lb) cartons containing 20 X 113.5gr (4oz) burgers bearing the UPC 8 73587 00003 5 and code 20169. Sourcec: barfblog; Doug Powell
http://www.barfblog.com/blog/143911/10/09/02/beef-recalled-ontario-retailer-people-sick-e-coli-o157
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2010/20100908e.shtml