Tester takes aim at meat inspection

Citing food safety concerns, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., is proposing sweeping changes in the way the meat industry prevents illness outbreaks from potentially deadly E. coli bacteria. “I don’t know what kind of blowback we’re going to get, but we do need to hold the people accountable who need to be held accountable,” Tester said Tuesday. At issue is the way the U.S. government tracks E. coli- and salmonella-contaminated meat in cases of food-borne illness. Investigations currently stop at butcher shops and packing plants, but Tester said the real contamination takes place in slaughterhouses, where animals are cut open and fecal bacteria from intestines and hides can come in contact with meat. For decades, rules for required testing have made it impossible to trace contamination back to slaughterhouses. Tester said he will introduce a bill today to amend the Meat Inspection Act, changing those rules and get to the source of a food illnesses like E. coli. Trace back regulations are overdue, said Bill Bullard, of R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America. But Bullard said the handful of meat companies responsible for slaughtering more than 80 percent of the country’s meat will lobby against what Tester is trying to do...read more