The USDA will be taking greater actions to combat E. coli. Although the USDA currently tests products for the deadly E. coli O157:H7 strain, they will now begin testing for non-1057 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli, or STECs. Test samples will include those that tested positive for O157 and those that did not. The new testing is only being done for study purposes, and the USDA has not declared STECs to be adulterants. If samples test positive for STECs, but not for O157, products will not be recalled or seized in any way.

The testing will be focusing on a variety of strains of STECs, including 026, 0111, 0103, 0121, 045, and 0145. These six types cause most illnesses among non-0157 bacteria, and once sufficient data is gathered, the USDA will make a decision on whether or not to include the bacteria as adulterants, subject to the same type of policies as products contaminated with 0157.

If the USDA does indeed declare these bacteria adulterants, they will undergo the following process, as reported by Meatingplace:

• define applicable products from slaughter/dressing and further processing
operations
• issue a Federal Register Notice in the form of an interpretive rule
• establish an effective date that ensures sufficient time to address seamless implementation for both domestic and imported products
• issue compliance guidelines
• issue policy implementation instructions and train FSIS inspection personnel
• conduct outreach to the regulated industry

The food industry will have to undergo major changes if this happens, especially among members of the meat industry. In response to this, FSIS Under Secretary Richard Raymond said, “You certainly may hear things you don’t agree with...Progress won’t occur if we’re just wanting to avoid discomfort by maintaining the old status quo. The E. coli bug is obviously not satisfied with the status quo and neither should we be.”