Control measures for escherichia coli O157:H7/NM in raw beef products
1. Interpretation
The following definitions apply in this document:
"beef product processed for raw consumption" means a meat product containing beef or veal that is intended to be consumed raw or that can be consumed raw. (produit de bœuf transfomé pour consommation à l'état cru)
"finished raw ground beef products" means all raw ground beef or veal products that will be sold to consumers in that state, including raw beef or veal products that contain comminuted and formed beef or veal. (produits de bœuf haché cru fini)
"high event period" means a period during which a licence holder receives a high number or rate of positive results for Escherichia coli O157:H7/NM in samples of precursor material taken from production lots containing the same source material. (période d'occurrences élevées)
"lot" means, in respect of beef or veal products, all product that is manufactured, treated, processed or packaged under the same conditions and using the same equipment over a maximum of 5 consecutive calendar days and does not exceed 4,500 kg. (lot)
"precursor material" means any raw meat products derived from beef or veal commonly used or intended to be used to make finished raw ground beef products or beef products processed for raw consumption, including trims, bench trims, coarse ground beef or veal, finely textured beef or veal, hearts, head meat, cheek meat, tongue roots, weasand meat and primal and subprimal cuts. (matériel précurseur)
2. Application
The control measures set out herein for the biological hazard associated with Escherichia coli O157:H7/NM (E. coli O157:H7/NM) in meat products must be used by a licence holder who manufactures, processes, treats or packages precursor material or beef products processed for raw consumption.
3. Sampling and testing for E. coli O157:H7/NM
- 1) The licence holder must have procedures to sample and test for E. coli O157:H7/NM in each lot of precursor material or beef products processed for raw consumption, unless
- (a) the precursor material will not be used to make finished raw ground beef products; or
- (b) the precursor material or beef product processed for raw consumption is derived from a lot of source materials which was sampled and tested according to these procedures.
- 2) Where applicable, the licence holder's procedures for sampling under subsection (1) must include:
- (a) selecting 60 sub-samples per lot sufficient to comprise a total sample of at least 325 g;
- (b) for precursor material not amenable to excision sampling, selecting a minimum of 5 sub-samples of 65 g each for a total sample of at least 325 g; and
- (c) selecting the sub-samples referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) so that they are from the outside surface of the sampled meat product and representative of the entire lot.
- 3) Despite subsection (2), a licence holder may use a different sampling procedure if it is as/or more rigorous than the procedure provided by subsection (2).
4. Monitoring for E. coli O157:H7/NM to detect trends
The licence holder's procedures to monitor for the presence of E. coli O157:H7/NM must include a procedure to identify trends in the results of the sampling and testing for E. coli O157:H7/NM set out in section 3.
5. Monitoring for E. coli O157:H7/NM to detect a high event period
In the case of a licence holder who manufactures, processes, treats or packages seven or more lots of precursor material or beef products processed for raw consumption per day, their procedures for monitoring under section 4 must include:
- (a) a limit for the number or rate of positive or presumptive positive results that will indicate a high event period; and
- (b) a procedure to monitor the limit set out in paragraph (a) to determine whether the test results indicate a high event period.
6. Corrective action procedures following positive test results for E. coli O157:H7/NM
The licence holder's procedures for corrective actions in respect of positive test results for E. coli O157:H7/NM in precursor material or beef products processed for raw consumption must include
- (a) a procedure to notify an inspector of any positive or presumptive positive result for E. coli O157:H7/NM;
- (b) in the case where the monitoring procedures in section 4 identify a trend which may indicate a loss of control of the process (in other words, an increase in the number of samples that test positive for E. coli O157:H7/NM), a procedure for notifying an inspector of the trend identified and for performing a root cause analysis; and
- (c) in the case where the monitoring procedures in section 5 indicate a high event period, a procedure for notifying an inspector of the finding and for conducting an investigation to determine if the lots of precursor material or beef products processed for raw consumption that tested negative and the lots of untested intact primal and sub-primal products from the same source material as the raw beef products that tested positive, are contaminated with E. coli O157:H7/NM.