2 Agencies Take Steps to Improve Food Safety

Following House passage of FDA strengthening legislation, USDA announces it will begin regular testing of "bench trim"—fat and meat trimmed from steaks and roasts at processing plants and added to ground beef. Previously, government tested most ground beef components at slaughterhouses but not bench trim, "creating a potentially dangerous hole in the government's food-safety regimen." About 600 plants will face approximately 1,500 annual samplings. Jerold R. Mande, USDA deputy under secretary, said testing begins in about a month. If patterns emerge, "we've got to go back further up the stream and find out how they're handling this bench trim and treat it differently." Marler calls it "an important change," noting bench trim was suspected in many recalls. "You're adding an additional layer of assurance that the ultimate product, the hamburger, is less likely to be contaminated." Simultaneously, FDA issues voluntary guidelines for tomatoes, leafy greens, and melons—first step toward mandatory regulations that Michael Taylor says would take about two years.