4-28 IAN Safer Beef

 New Guidance Practices in Food Safety Announced at

Annual Beef Safety Summit 

New guidance practices for sampling, lotting and testing beef products were released recently at the ninth annual Beef Industry Food Safety Summit, hosted by the Beef Industry Food Safety Council (BIFSCo). 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. “Our number one goal is to eliminate pathogens from the beef supply by placing multiple hurdles along the beef production chain. Product testing is a way to validate that the multiple hurdles are working to reduce the incidence of potential pathogens in the food supply,” said James O. Reagan, Ph.D., chairman of BIFSCo and senior vice president of research, education and innovation for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.Here’s Dr. Reagan in person: “we have found through our discussions that there really were no set guidelines or recommendations on that so, this past year we have brought the most knowledgeable people in our industry together” with the goal of having a much safer food supply for all Americans.