Link-to-link strategies are needed to ensure meat safety
By Bryan Salvage, Editor
When it comes to maintaining the safety of meat, think of the links in the meat chain (from producer to consumer) united in a "series" connection.
As in any series connection, all it takes is one malfunctioning unit to prevent an entire system from working. If one link in the meat chain improperly handles a meat product, the end result, at the very least, will be an unacceptable product; in a worst-case scenario, the product could cause illness or death.
In the following article, industry experts from various links in the meat chain focus on major meat safety challenges, and industry successes in meeting some of these challenges.
Moving on up
"We need to move forward to take food safety up to a new level in the meat industry," says Michael R Taylor, USDA acting undersecretary for Food Safety. "We have to move forward in building a science-based process control philosophy and techniques into the meat production process."
That's a big challenge, Taylor admits. But he adds it is well within industry's capability to make significant progress in reducing the risk of illness from pathogenic microorganisms and harmful bacteria by adopting a science-based preventative approach.
"This is what HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point program) is all about," he says.
As industry moves toward adopting a science-based inspection system and incorporating HACCP at all packing and processing plants, executives at many smaller companies still fear that the costs to implement such systems may be very expensive-and could force them out of business.
"During our public meetings [last September], we signaled our current thinking on a number of issues where there are ways to resolve issues that will deal very effectively with the small business community's cost concerns," Taylor points out.
He adds that FSIS will work closely with smaller companies even after the final rule is published. Small plant demonstration projects will be conducted prior to such facilities being required to implement HACCP.
"We will be issuing generic HACCP model plans that will provide guidance to small plants," Taylor stresses. "We're planning to issue guidance [describing] hazards and possible controls for small, as well as large, plants. We're going to provide an enormous amount of assistance and have a set of rules that will be practical for all companies we regulate so they will actually work to improve food safety."
When asked when industry could expect to see the final HACCP rules published, Taylor tells Meat Marketing & Technology: "As promptly as possible. We're working as hard as we can to get them done as soon as we can. We're making very good progress. We expect to begin implementation of various elements in 1996."
Taylor adds that both industry and FSIS clearly recognize the important role that technological innovation can play to improve food safety.
"During the past 15 months, it has been a priority to ensure that FSIS is working positively with industry to evaluate and incorporate food safety technologies into production systems," Taylor notes. "A year ago, we made a decision with respect to the conversion of the final carcass wash to an antimicrobial treatment, [thus eliminating] the prior plant-by-plant approval requirement for that particular technological innovation.
"I hope we cleared the way for more rapid incorporation of that sort of technology, and that we sent a signal that we intend to systematically seek to encourage technology [development and use to enhance food safety,]" he adds.
FSIS' Technology Assessment and Research Coordination division was launched last April as a focal point for review of protocols for in-plant trials of new technologies.
"We're designing an overhaul of our regulatory system in a way that we believe will stimulate and encourage the adoption of new technologies to enhance food safety," Taylor says. "Most major new technologies are going to require some in-plant testing. This raises issues concerning product safety, adulteration and worker safety.
"We must be sure that in commercial facilities where these trials take place, that those interests are not jeopardized," he adds. "But on the other hand, we've got to do it in a way that does not slow down innovation."
Several very important technologies came through this process in 1995.
-- In October, FSIS approved commercial trials of a process to remove hair and external contaminants from cattle prior to the commencement of the slaughter process. Monfort Inc. submitted a request for approval to the agency on this technology. "They're building a pilot facility to give this very important technology a commercial test," Taylor says.
-- FSIS approved large-scale commercial test trials (requested by IBP inc.) of the steam vacuum technology.
-- Excel Corp. petitioned FSIS on the steam pasteurization process, which has been approved for commercial use.
Taylor praises all three companies.
"[They] have shown leadership and are investing in technologies to improve food safety," he notes. "During the past few years, the public's high expectations concerning the safety of its food has been bought to bear on the meat industry. There are real food safety issues out there, including the very difficult problem of E. coli 0157:H7. But we also have a real opportunity to effectively meet those high public expectations as we work to incorporate the kinds of scientific process controls into the systems that HACCP embodies.
"I feel very positive about the future and the opportunities we have to significantly improve food safety in a way that will work extremely well for consumers and the industry," he adds.
AMI perspective
When asked to name (in descending order of importance) the major food safety issues currently facing the red meat industry, Craig Morris, AMI manager of scientific and technical affairs, listed: ? HACCP implementation.
-- Post-harvest, food-borne pathogen control-E. coli 0157:H7, salmonella, listeria, camplyobacter, staphylococcus aureus, clostridium perfringens, and other pathogens.
-- Foodservice/consumer education of meat storage, cooking and handling to reduce food-borne illness from pathogens.
-- Pre-harvest, food-borne pathogen control.
-- Nitrite and other consumer concerns over reported cancer linkages from additives and preservatives.
-- Antibiotic use and residue control.
-- Trichinella spiralis, as well as other parasites.
-- Hormone use and residue control.
-- Heterocyclic amines in cooked meat.
"It is important to note that this listing is relative to both the perceived risk, as well as actual risk, these issues pose to our industry and the consumers of the products that we produce," he says.
Morris addresses the importance of reformation efforts directed toward mandatory HACCP.
"AMI has remained in the forefront of our industry by encouraging our members and USDA to adopt HACCP principles in the production and inspection of red meat," Morris says. "It has been through this cooperative effort with academia, industry and government that we believe we will have a new post-mortem inspection system that will be looked at for years to come as one of the greatest progresses made toward improving the safety of our meat supply."
Morris cautions that in order for government to develop a new inspection system that meets all needs, this cooperative effort must continue throughout the development and implementation of the new system.
Pathogen control and intervention strategies remain on industry's front burner of issues. Morris points out that progress has been made with pathogen control and prevention in the nation's meat supply-including the investigation of organic acid rinses, trisodium phosphate rinses, steam vacuum systems, steam pasteurization technologies, irradiation and others.
"Nevertheless, this body of research is not yet complete and may continually be improved," Morris cautions. "Industry must continue to look for new technologies and provide competitive funds to researchers with new ideas."
By some estimates, the most common cause of food-borne illness results from foodservice workers and consumers mishandling or improperly cooking foods.
"AMI supports science-based educational efforts by the USDA's Cooperative Extension Service, consumer groups and the meat and poultry industries to teach food handlers and consumers about proper food storage, handling and preparation," Morris says. Pre-harvest pathogen control is a target of growing interest.
"There is very little that we understand about pathogen occurrence, shedding, and origins at the animal production level," Morris notes. "Research needs to continue to focus on this segment of the industry."
He adds that AMI supports the efforts of groups like the Blue Ribbon Task Force and USDA's Agricultural Research Service to address the questions that remain in this area.
The link between cured meat consumption and nitrite has been an issue for years, Morris says.
"The cooperative effort among academia, industry and government has allowed the meat industry to produce safe cured products that present no risk to consumers from the presence of nitrite," he says.
"In addition, AMI strongly believes that nitrite is an important and beneficial ingredient in cured meat products, contributing to the safety of the product by preventing growth of clostridium botulinum and preventing spoilage, as well as producing a different category of products," Morris points out.
Use of approved antibiotics in livestock at recommended levels has been brought about by cooperative efforts between industry groups.
Morris tells MM&T that AMI supports the rights of animal producers to use approved antibiotics legally, as well as the rights of producers and packers to offer meat from animals that have received no antibiotics or drugs.
"Nevertheless, the marketing of these products [antibiotic and drug free] that appeal to a limited niche of the market should be conducted in a way that does not reflect negatively on the safety and quality of competing products in the marketplace," Morris cautions.
Hormone use in livestock has been investigated for years, and Morris states that scientists from around the world have concluded that proper use of FDA-approved growth hormones pose no threat to human health.
"Residues are virtually non-detectable compared to levels of hormones produced naturally by both humans and animals," he says. "Through the cooperative efforts between FDA's approval process for animal drugs and the USDA's Residue Monitoring Program, the current use of hormones in beef production poses no threat to human health."
Meats and other animal proteins cooked to high temperatures produce trace levels of mutagenic compounds that are potentially cancer-causing, Morris says.
"One of the mutagenic compounds, a heterocyclic amine called IQ, has been isolated, fed to laboratory animals at extremely high levels, and found to cause cancer in those animals," he points out. "Despite a lack of relevance to real human exposure, previous findings do warrant further investigation of this issue.
"AMI has carefully tracked this issue and is investigating ways to limit heterocyclic amine levels in meat products," Morris adds. "However, AMI currently believes that since these substances occur in barely detectable and insignificant amounts, consumers should be reassured that they can continue to eat and enjoy meat products."
Foodservice perspective
When asked to name major red meat issues affecting the foodservice sector, one insider quickly names one: pathogenic bacteria.
"The primary issue of concern is pathogenic bacteria that is found [in red meat products], meaning E. coli 0157:H7 and some of the salmonella strains," says Kyle Gould, manager of technical education and food safety for the Chicago-based Educational Foundation, the training arm of the National Restaurant Association.
"The consumer is demanding zero risks, and therefore the onus is put on the foodservice operator to receive a product that is safe when it comes to the back door," she adds.
Some foodservice businesses already require their suppliers to sign certificates of conformance or some other form of guarantee that states the meat they are buying was produced under agreed-upon specifications and sanitary conditions.
"The other thing the foodservice industry is doing is training its own employees to handle meat products safely," Gould says. She further feels that the foodservice industry will follow the lead of the meat industry in enhancing meat safety.
"If processors put into place systems of food-safety management in their plants, HACCP for instance, the foodservice industry will pick up on that and ask for that to be the standard for the processors' industry-and [they will] adopt some of those same principles in the foodservice industry-whether it is driven by regulation or not," she adds.
Gould says that educating the consumer about new food-safety technologies at the packing/processing level will help lead the foodservice industry into feeling that such new technologies are safe, and should be employed. Gould says many major foodservice chains already have some form of HACCP system in place; and those that don't are working on them. However, Gould cites one problem relating to HACCP at the foodservice level.
"Problems come about when you have regulatory people demanding HACCP plans or flow charts, and they're not making them practical for foodservice operators or processors," Gould notes. "It becomes a paper exercise."
Retail perspective
From the retailer's perspective, the food-safety issue it is most concerned with is the potential for E. coli 0157:H7 contamination in ground meat products, says Karen Brown, Food Marketing Institute senior vice president. "Retailers are also concerned that the meat products coming to them, in general, are as free of contamination as possible," she adds.
In October, the FMI board established a four-level task force on food safety. The task force has identified four goals:
-- Develop a comprehensive model food-safety program for food retailers and wholesalers.
-- Heighten the awareness and level of responsibility of retailers and store associates.
-- Develop key messages to increase a level of knowledge and personal responsibility for food safety on the part of the customers and general public.
-- Collaborate with other parts of the food system [in efforts to enhance food safety.]
"Part of the reason we established this task force is to develop a comprehensive [food safety] program for retailers and wholesalers," Brown stresses. "We probably [already] have more than 30 educational informational pieces oriented at supermarket operators relating to food protection within the store for all departments, particularly the perishable department.
"We have developed a HACCP model for ground beef," she adds. "We've worked closely with FDA and USDA in developing guidelines for in-store sanitation, food protection and food handling [programs]."
FMI, through a partnership with Cornell University, has developed a food handler's certification program. It is currently available to FMI members.
When asked whether FMI supports the concept of case-ready fresh meat to enhance food safety, Brown tells MM&T: "We don't have a position on any specific process or ways of presenting products. However, we're certainly interested in any methods that will reduce the opportunity for contamination of a product, and keep it as wholesome and fresh as possible."