Get Rid of E. Coli in Ground Beef

Intralytix announced last week that its phage-based food safety product, EcoShield™, effective in eliminating or significantly reducing E. coli O157:H7, is now available in commercial quantities.

In February of this year, Intralytix obtained FDA clearance of EcoShield in the form of a “Food Contact Notification” or FCN, specific for its use on red meat parts and trim intended to be ground. The FDA has designated the FCN clearance for this phage-based product as FCN No. 1018. Data submitted as part of Intralytix’s FCN application showed that EcoShield reduces E. coli O157:H7 in ground meat by more than 95%.

In June of this year, the FSIS issued its “no objection” letter allowing the use of EcoShield when applied to red meat parts and trim that will be ground, thus completing the regulatory approval process. Both the FDA and the FSIS will treat EcoShield as a processing aid when applied in this manner, thus not requiring labeling of treated ground red meat.

EcoShield is an all-natural product. It does not contain known allergenic substances (wheat, milk, soy, etc.) and it does not alter the general composition, taste, aroma, or color of foods. The product is designated as Kosher and Halal. EcoShield is non-corrosive to processing equipment, requires no or low upfront investment in machinery, and is cost-competitive when compared to alternative technologies.

For more information, contact Dr. Alexander Sulakvelidze, Chief Science Officer, at asulakvelidze@intralytix.com or 410-625-2533 or Mary Davies, Director of Information, at mdavies@intralytix.com or 877-489-7427.

Miss Phage hopes you like our new look here at Food safety Solutions. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a message here.

Zero Tolerance for Other Known E. Coli Strains

USDA Takes New Steps to Fight E. Coli, Protect the Food Supply

Designation Extends Zero Tolerance Policy for E. coli O157:H7 to Six Additional E. coli Serogroups

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2011 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that it is taking new steps to fight E. coli and protect the safety of the American food supply. Six additional serogroups of pathogenic E. coli will be declared adulterants in non-intact raw beef. Raw ground beef, its components, and tenderized steaks found to contain these bacteria will be prohibited from sale to consumers. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will launch a testing program to detect these dangerous pathogens and prevent them from reaching consumers.

As a result of today's action, if the E. coli serogroups O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 and O145 are found in raw ground beef or its precursors, those products will be prohibited from entering commerce. Like E.coli O157:H7, these serogroups can cause severe illness and even death, and young children and the elderly are at highest risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies these particular serogroups of non-O157:H7 Shiga-toxin producing E.coli, or non-O157 STEC, as those responsible for the greatest numbers of non-O157 STEC illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States.
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Spin the Wheel and Play the Food Safety Game

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has designed several games to teach adults and children about food safety.  Go ahead, give this one a try.

The key to success in this game is knowing about food safety. Read each question carefully because there may be some trick questions. You can find out more about food safety at their website.

Food Safety in a Power Outage

Last weekend's hurricane threatened to wreak havoc. In my pre-storm planning, I was most concerned about the water, a problem I have become quite familiar with over the past few years. But it wasn't the water that caused the most stress this time. It was the loss of power and internet connection that provided the bigger challenges for 61 hours and 32 minutes. I know I've been fortunate regarding past outages which have been short and few. Perhaps that's why this one felt like an eternity.

My storm provisions of gallons of drinking water and foods that were edible without heating, cooling, or cooking were working out fine. But there were no bags of ice to be found anywhere nearby.
Day 1 - I had not acted fast enough.
Day 2 - I got word of a source for dry ice. Alas, they were sold out, but expected more later in the day. I stood in line, but again, no luck, the short supply ran out.
Later on Day 2 I found bags of ice that had just been restocked at the grocery store. Happiness!

Meanwhile, the contents of my freezer were all melting and needed to be tossed. The refrigerator was a little trickier. I had put the drinks we used most often into a cooler with 2 bags of ice. In another cooler with ice,  I put the foods I thought we might want to eat within the day. The fridge felt like it was still staying cool, but I didn't have a thermometer to be certain. So out went the milk, eggs, lunch meats from the coolers along with  the seafood, poultry and leftovers that looked delicious.

Since it had exceeded the suggested time and temperature I had to follow the safety rule:
"When in doubt, Throw it out." So out it went.

But suppose I had been better prepared with a regular source of dry and wet ice? How long could the food in the refrigerator have survived?  The USDA says a freezer can be expected to keep food safe for 24 hours if it is half full or for 48 hours if fully packed with frozen foods. If the fridge door had been left closed, it may have kept the temp at 40 or below for up to 4 hours without power.

After the 10th hour, the novelty of the power failure was wearing off and we started to unload the fridge. The food still felt cold to the touch - but we played it safe and threw it all out.     

Miss Phage apologizes for missing her weekly blog entry on Monday, August 29, 2011. The storm knocked out power very early Sunday morning and it wasn't restored until late Tuesday evening.