US to test beef for six kinds of E coli bacteria

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US to test beef for six kinds of E coli bacteria

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The US started testing six more kinds of E.coli bacteria in raw ground beef.

13 September,2011 10:59 pm

The US currently tests for one strain of E.coli O157:H7 in beef, but beginning in March 2012, if raw beef tests positive for E.coli serogroups O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 and O145, it will be banned from the market.The six additional types of E. coli can survive in meat that is cooked to a pink center, and even very low doses can cause potentially fatal illnesses particularly in children and the elderly, the Department of Agriculture said.“These organisms could survive in a hamburger that is not properly cooked,” said USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Elisabeth Hagen, noting that many Americans like to eat meat that is prepared medium rare.About one in six Americans becomes sick from a food borne illnesses each year, an epidemic that kills about 3,000 annually and hospitalizes 128,000, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.