IBP RUNS REVIEW IN RECALL'S WAKE

CHRIS YTUARTE

GENESEO, Ill. -- As its voluntary recall of nearly 266,000 pounds of ground beef winds down, IBP, based here, continues to review the inspection procedures that it uses in checking its own production plants, company officials said. Overall, they noted that the processor's in-house food-safety systems are well run and well maintained.

Just over two weeks ago, IBP recalled all unopened vacuum-packaged tubes of ground beef that were produced in its Geneseo plant May 13, after tests of a distribution sample by inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service showed positive for E. coli 0157:H7. In-house inspection and production policies and procedures are now being scrutinized by IBP as company representatives attempt to pinpoint the source of the contamination.

Though distribution channels in 25 states were affected by the recall, no illnesses have been reported in association with the beef, officials said.

According to a company statement, the implementation of a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point program in company plants, including the Geneseo complex, incorporates various safety-assurance systems like pre-operative sanitation procedures, steam vacuums, steam pasteurization, carcass-production and packaging-system audits, organic acid rinses, temperature audits, employee training and temperature verification on shipping trailers.

IBP has also developed its own food-safety process for each individual carcass, called Triple Clean, a three-step procedure that uses steam vacuums, a carcass wash and organic acid rinse, and finally a steam pasteurization cabinet to produce the safest possible product, officials said.

IBP's Geneseo plant maintains a food-safety staff of 40 at all times, plus a team of 20 full-time USDA inspectors. The company also operates 12 approved and accredited laboratories that provide chemical and microbiological analysis of all IBP products, they noted.

The recall of the ground beef chubs was mainly a cautionary measure, according to IBP, since the beef in question was produced May 13 and had an 18-day shelf life, which should have left very little, if any, of the product remaining on retail shelves by the time of the late-June recall. In its notice, IBP also added that even contaminated meat can be safe to eat if cooked properly and heated to 160 degrees Fahrenheit throughout.

Against this backdrop, though unrelated to the recall, IBP stated that it will continue plans to introduce beef that has been irradiated using electronic pasteurization, a process that destroys contaminants such as E. coli 0157:H7.