In 1998 USDA-FSIS declared Escherichia coli O157:H7 and, then in 2012, six non-O157 shiga toxin-producing E. coli serogroups (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121 and O145), known as non-O157 STECs, to be adulterants in non-intact raw beef products (zero tolerance policy). The surveillance program, put in place by FSIS, has shown the prevalence of these E. coli O157:H7 and the non-O157 STECs; and the risk mitigation strategies employed by U.S. processors have been effective. Beside US beef processors, all beef exporting countries to the U.S. (Australia, New Zealand, and, more recently, Brazil) have also been impacted by this regulation and have included these food hazards in their food safety management plans and in their food testing programs.

In the meantime, other countries have become concerned by food poisoning due to STECs in produce and dairy matrices. In 2011, Germany incurred the largest ever reported outbreak of STEC O104:H4 illness, linked to the consumption of fenugreek sprouted seeds. As a consequence, the EU, in 2013,  issued microbiological criteria for sprouts, including recommendations for STEC testing in sprouts (O157, O26, O103, O111, O145 & O104:H4) and the use of the ISO TS 13136 STEC testing standard. Following on from such, countries have, also, increased their testing for STECs in beef and dairy products.  Numerous products have been incriminated in product recalls or border rejections.

However, official microbiological criteria for STECs have yet to be defined by the EU for these food products and the basis for past actions appears to have been hazard-based rather than risk-based. Such actions and the rapid move towards molecular gene sequence-based detection methods with an as yet incomplete understanding of the relationship between the presence of genes and risk threaten international trade. This symposium will illustrate the current understanding around STECs in foodborne outbreaks, including data on surveillance programs among different food types; and will highlight how all of that translates to international food trade. Speakers from U.S. and Australia/NZ will present some of their key data linked to STEC and show the understanding and expectations of their respective countries.

Presentations