Beef processor steps up E. coli testing to serotypes
“BPI has always been an industry leader in our commitment to ensuring food safety and quality in our beef,” says Craig Letch, BPI’s director of quality assurance. “BPI led the hold-and-test initiative and has applied its own rigorous program for more than 15 years, and we are now expanding our testing even further to include testing for these other potentially harmful bacteria.”
While most common E. coli are not pathogenic, Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) pathogens, collectively referred to as non-O157 STECs, are forms of E. coli that are capable of producing negative health effects similar to those caused by E. coli O157:H7, which is the most widely known strain to raise serious health concerns in the US.