USDA Tightens Ground Beef Purchase Rules

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will force companies selling ground beef used in federal food and nutrition programmes, including school lunches, to meet tougher food safety guidelines beginning this year.

The federal agency said ground beef purchased by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will be subject to additional testing and it will ban the use of certain trimmings.

The AMS will also consider any company classified by the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service as having a poor long-term safety record as an ineligible vendor until a complete cause-and-effect analysis is completed.

The new requirements will be applicable to ground beef contracts awarded on or after 1 July 2010.

The US Government annually spends $17bn on child nutrition, chiefly on school lunches.

Earlier, the USDA said the National Academy of Sciences was reviewing its ground beef purchases.