The causes behind this year’s sudden spike in E. coli detections, which has already produced one record-level, company-ruining recall, are still a mystery, according to the head of the American Meat Institute Foundation, a non-profit research, education and information organization founded by and associated with the AMI.
“The prevalence of E. coli in the product itself is not appreciably different this year than last,” Jim Hodges, AMIF’s president, told Meat & Poultry, pointing to USDA figures that put the incidence of positive E. coli tests in ground beef at 0.19 percent so far this year, compared to 0.17 percent in 2006. “What is different is that we’ve got more recalls this year. What that says to me is that something has changed. Are we discovering more illness? Is the organism changing? We don’t have the answers yet. I think most people are frankly scratching their heads.”
Read the full MeatPoultry.com story here.
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