RISK ASSESSMENT OF E. coli O157:H7 IN GROUND BEEF
ANNOUNCEMENT |
On August 18, 1998, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food
Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced plans to conduct
a farm-to-table risk assessment for E. coli O157:H7 in beef with a focus on ground beef.
|
OVERVIEW |
The overall goals of the assessment are as follows:
- To quantitatively model, with attendant uncertainty, human illnesses caused by
E. coli O157:H7 in beef in the United States and to compare these results with
national estimates of illnesses derived from observed epidemiological data.
- To identify the occurrence and levels of the pathogen at points along the
farm-to-table continuum and the contribution of these points to the number of
human illnesses.
- To quantify the effects of various mitigation strategies in reducing
the number of human illnesses.
- To identify future research needs.
- To document risk assessment methods and evidence for future assessments.
- To document changes in the risk assessment model and its inputs.
- To effectively communicate the results to all interested parties--government,
consumer groups, industry, the scientific community and the general public.
|
OCTOBER 1998 PUBLIC MEETING |
On October 28, 1998 FSIS held a public meeting to solicit input into the scope of
the risk assessment and scientific information and data that would be relevant to
conducting the analysis. A complete transcript of the public meeting is on file in
the FSIS docket (Docket #98-037N).
|
PRELIMINARY PATHWAYS AND DATA
|
At the October 28 public meeting, FSIS released a draft report,
Preliminary Pathways and Data for a Risk Assessment of E. coli
O157:H7 in Beef. The draft report was not intended to present results, preliminary
or otherwise. Comments on the draft and additional data identified during the public
meeting or submitted to the docket in response to the August 18, 1998 Federal Register
Notice by January 8, 1999 will be evaluated for inclusion in the development of the draft
risk assessment model.
|
PROJECT TIMELINE |
FSIS anticipates releasing a draft report documenting the
baseline risk assessment model for public comment and peer review in the Spring of
2001.
|
E. coli O157:H7 PUBLIC MEETING -- FEBRUARY 29, 2000 |
Slide presentation summarizing
the draft findings of the FSIS risk assessment of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef. From talk presented at February 29, 2000, public meeting
on E. coli O157:H7.
|
Click here to learn more about the Office of Public Health and Science.
Click here to return to FSIS.
|