Findings of the Health Risk Assessment of Escherichia coli O157 in Mechanically Tenderized Beef Products in Canada

In late 2012, a total of 18 cases of foodborne illness caused by Escherichia coli O157 were reported as part of a Canadian outbreak related to contaminated beef. During the food safety investigation associated with the outbreak, it was determined that a few cases were likely associated with the consumption of mechanically tenderized beef (MTB) which had been tenderized at the retail level. Details of this investigation and its follow-up are available online on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) website.This event raised awareness of the Canadian public and the scientific community regarding the practice of mechanical tenderization of beef. Furthermore, four relatively recent E. coli O157 outbreaks in the United States have highlighted the fact that non-intact products, other than ground beef, such as tenderized roasts and steaks, may represent an increased risk of illness relative to intact muscle cuts (USDA-FSIS, 2005; Laine et al., 2005; CDC, 2010). In order to evaluate this risk, Health Canada (HC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) have developed a workplan to gather information and communicate any potential risks to Canadians associated with the practice of mechanical tenderization of beef products. The Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Food Directorate, HC, in partnership with The Public Health Risk Sciences Division, Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, PHAC and in collaboration with other food safety partners have developed a health risk assessment on the potential health risks associated with MTB products in Canada. document summarizes the initial findings of the assessment and updates the relative risk estimates for Canada using the structure of the 2013 model published by PHAC (Smith et al., 2013), while taking into account new information. model demonstrated that the consumption of MTB is approximately 5 times riskier than consumption of an intact beef cut. In contrast, ground beef is 1500 and 7300 times riskier than MTB and intact beef cuts, respectively. Additionally, model investigations of an intervention, applied directly prior to tenderization demonstrated that the calculated risk associated with MTB can potentially be reduced to a level of risk nearing that of an intact beef cut. more fulsome assessment document accounting for data submitted to HC most recently (April – May 2013) and including detailed characterizations of mathematical modeling of the various scenarios envisaged is currently under preparation and will be published subsequently.