Why is E. coli making a comeback?

Now, unless USDA has specific evidence that strongly suggests the bacterial contamination took place in the home, it will assume the product was already contaminated when purchased. And it will use those samples to build a case for a recall.

This change is a direct result of the agency’s missteps in handling last month’s huge Topps Meat Co. recall. Eleven days before the recall, tests confirmed that a box of frozen hamburger patties had E. coli. But because that contamination was found in an open box of burgers in a family’s freezer, nothing was done.

You might think any meat left over after a day’s production run would have to be discarded. Not so. Meat processors are allowed to keep this meat overnight and mix it with the next day’s batch. The industry term for this leftover meat is rework.

“That can lead to problems,” says Michael Hansen, a food scientist at Consumers Union. Using leftover production the next day “is a convenient way to contaminate the product over and over again,” he says. And it makes it difficult to figure out where the contamination starts and stops.

The USDA’s Goldman says rework is a practice “we’ve discouraged, but we have not prohibited.” He tells me USDA is reviewing its policy on rework, even though most companies, he says, don’t use it.

In fact, this mixing of meat from one day to the next was standard procedure at the Topps Meat Co. It could be why the company’s recent recall of frozen ground beef products — 21.7 million pounds — was so large.

This may come as a surprise, but USDA does not have the authority to order a recall of contaminated meat. The agency can only ask a company to voluntarily recall it.

“I just find this to be absurd,” says attorney Marler. “To me, if there’s a problem, we should expect our government to intervene on our behalf.”

Consumer advocates agree. They want Congress to give the Department of Agriculture the power to order meat recalls. The meat industry opposes this idea, saying it wouldn’t change anything.

“There has not been one instance where the product has not been voluntarily recalled at the request of the government,” says James Hodges of the American Meat Institute Foundation.

Critics argue that if USDA had the power to force recalls, things would move more quickly. They point to last week’s voluntary recall of ConAgra frozen pot pies. That recall came four days after USDA linked a salmonella outbreak — that made at least 165 people sick — to those products.

The bottom line
“Most of the best practices for controlling E.coli are not required by the U.S. government,” notes Caroline Smith DeWaal, Director of Food Safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. She thinks they should be. I agree.

It’s time for Congress to get off the dime and give USDA the resources and authority it needs to insure the safety of the country’s meat and poultry supply. Lawmakers must require the agency to improve its testing and enforce better production practices.

And Congress, while you’re at it, you need to do the same for the FDA, which regulates the rest of our food supply.

In the meantime, anyone using ground beef needs to assume that meat is contaminated and handle it accordingly. That means cooking it thoroughly and preventing cross-contamination. You, dear consumer, are the last line of defense.

More information:

• Focus on ground beef
• Cook to Proper Temperatures
• Color of Cooked Ground Beef as It Relates to Doneness

Don't miss this on MSNBC.com Pass it on: Sons of infertile men may be next The eight biggest Olympic marketing debacles Reality show judges range from wise to wacko Cosmic Log: Is this your jetpack? Forget your inhibitions: World's sexiest islands

MORE FROM CONSUMERMAN

ConsumerMan Section Front

It’s a ruby (in name only) Are holiday lights a hazard? The great rebate debate Clean clothes, stinky problem Fed overdraft rule not enough ConsumerMan Section Front   Add ConsumerMan headlines to your news reader: