With the FSIS’ expanded sampling program for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli on bench trim, a prudent establishment should review its procedures as well as FSIS’ for any STEC testing.

On Dec. 13, 2013, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued Notice 81-13 to clarify and expand its routine trim sampling programs. Inspection program personnel (IPP) were to implement this notice beginning Jan. 5, 2014, with updating the plant profile so that sampling tasks can be appropriately scheduled.

For “prerequisite programs”, there seems to be no single definition that covers all of them.

Whether or not the August 2013 proposed rule to mandate prominent labeling of raw “mechanically tenderized” beef is implemented by USDA-FSIS, producers of non-intact raw beef products (including ground) need to consider the raw materials used when assessing their food-safety system.

On August 28th, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published a Notice in the Federal Register announcing proposed changes to the agency’s Salmonella sampling program for raw beef.

Of all the sanitation issues that can occur in processing facilities, condensation is one of the most common.

On June 10, 2013, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register: “Descriptive Designation for Needle- or Blade-Tenderized (Mechanically Tenderized) Beef Products.”

On May 8, 2013, all small and very small establishments were required to have a written recall plan (9 CFR § 418.3).

On Apr. 18, 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the annual report on the “Incidence and Trends of Infection with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food – Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, 10 U.S. Sites, 1996 – 2012.”

On March 12th, the Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) published a proposed rule to amend the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) regulations.