US agriculture secretary confident meat is safe

"I don't think we'll ever see a totally bacteria-free environment in the United States," Ed Schafer said Tuesday during a visit of several Nebraska meat processing plants.

His tour didn't include the Nebraska Beef Ltd. plant in Omaha, which recalled 5.3 million pounds of meat last week that has been linked to 41 E. coli infections in Michigan and Ohio.

Schafer said he thinks the company, not the USDA inspectors at the plant, should be held responsible for the tainted meat. He said the inspectors are there only to make sure the plant follows USDA rules.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service concluded last week that Nebraska Beef's production practices were insufficient to effectively control E. coli bacteria.

Now the focus is on determining exactly how the meat was contaminated at Nebraska Beef, he said, and making sure steps are taken to prevent future problems.

Schafer's tour was designed to showcase innovative ways companies are working to keep meat safe. He visited a Hormel pork plant in Fremont where the processed, canned meat Spam is made; a Cargill Meat Solutions beef plant in Schuyler; and an Omaha Steaks processing plant in Omaha.

Schafer said he's amazed at the relatively small number of people who get sick from eating meat each year when the number is compared to the millions of pounds of meat produced.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that E. coli sickens about 73,000 people and kills 61 each year in the United States. Most of those who die have weak immune systems, such as the elderly or very young.

E. coli bacteria were discovered in the late 1970s and are present in the intestines of most cattle. They also can be found in deer, goats and sheep. They don't cause problems for the livestock, but the E. coli 0157:H7 variant can cause severe illness in humans.