“Controlling E. coli O157 throughout the beef production chain makes controlling the pathogen at slaughter plants easier and every beef product safer.”

E. coli O157 Solutions The Pre-Harvest Commitment
Beef Industry Food Safety Council
Sponsored by: National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

Live Animal Prevention Protocols

To be eligible to carry the VeriPrime Certified Safeguards label the following prevention protocols must be implemented. The live animal safeguards have been recommended by the VeriPrime Beef Pre-Harvest Advisory Council and approved by the VeriPrime Board of Directors. The Advisory Council is composed of leading nutritionists and veterinarians who advise VeriPrime’s members on pre-harvest standards and best practices.

A PDF Summary of the safeguards is available for download by clicking here.

The processing and retail best practices from the Beef Industry Food Safety Council are presented for informational purposes.

Traceability

The standards and the certification for Certified Traceability can be found at the Agri Food Certification website.

E. coli Best Practices

The best practices for E. coli mitigation are contained in the Beef Industry Food Safety Council website and was sponsored by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and funded by America’s Beef Producers through the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.

The Following is an Excerpt from the Beef Industry Food Safety Council Website www.bifsco.org

“Beginning in January of 2003, representatives from every sector of the beef industry have been diligently working together on unified best practice documents that will serve as a blueprint for making beef an even safer product. For the first time, the entire industry has brought together their best resources and created shared documents that function as the industry standard for food safety practices and procedures.

These best practice documents were written and approved by people who will be using these practices every day in their sectors of the beef industry. The documents include procedures they have implemented successfully at their own operations, and are now sharing with the rest of the beef industry.

The best practices are fluid documents and will be updated as needed to incorporate the most current science and technology. At the end of each document is a list of technical experts who are available to answer specific questions about each set of best practices.”

Each Link below connects to the Beef Industry Food Safety Council Website www.bifsco.org

Basic E. coli Facts Brochure

Production Best Practices Producer Resource Guide

Best Practices for Vacuum-packed Sub-primals

Best Practices for Spinal Cord Removal

Industry Best Practices for Holding Tested Products

Best Practices for Processing Raw Ground Beef Products

Best Practices for Pathogen Control During Tenderizing/Enhancing of Whole Muscle Cuts

Condensed Non-intact Processing Best Practices

Foodservice Best Practices

Best Practices for Retailer Operations Producing Raw Ground Beef

Costco Standard Operating Procedure for Meat Grinder

Best Practices for Beef Slaughter (2/16/2008)