Month: March 2011

New guidance practices for sampling, lotting and testing beef products were released this week at the ninth annual Beef Industry Food Safety Summit, hosted by the Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo), funded in part by the Beef Checkoff Program. The new Guidance Document for Sampling and Lotting of Beef Products and Sample Analysis for Pathogens will assist beef processing companies in implementing proven pathogen-testing programs as part of a multiple-hurdle food safety system aimed at advancing beef safety. …

Global Foods Processing Inc. will expand its operation in Sioux City with the construction of a facility on the site of the former John Morrell & Co. meatpacking plant, the company has announced. …

Smithfield Foods, Inc. announced today that it is launching a new, educational series of videos providing an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at pork production and sustainability practices at the company’s Murphy-Brown hog farms. …

In a report released today, USDAs Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommended that the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) take steps to thoroughly reevaluate its N-60 sampling program, noting that this sample size and design may not be adequate for detecting E. coli O157:H7 in beef trim given the presumed low occurrence of the pathogen, but FSIS expressed concern that the very low and declining prevalence of the pathogen makes it extremely difficult to detect E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef. …