Metal object contamination in the meat industry is relatively rare, but it can lead to a disproportionate amount of recalled products. According to 2019 USDA data, recalls for possible presence of metal objects accounted for 34% of foreign matter contamination cases and for 90% of total pounds of recalled meat.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently announced plans to plans to significantly expand its routine verification testing for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STECs), which includes the six non-O157 strains O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145.