The 2014 outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 associated with pork was the largest E. coli outbreak in Canada since Walkerton, Ontario, with 119 confirmed cases. Since that time, there have been two additional E. coli outbreaks associated with pork products in Alberta. One was reported in January 2016 and was linked to ready-to-eat sausage, and the other was linked to pork dumplings in April 2016. Some provincially licensed abattoirs (PLAs) have been associated with these outbreaks and had to perform a recall.
In light of these outbreaks, we encourage all red meat PLAs to consider implementing the steps listed below to minimize the risk of contamination of red meat with E. coli O157:H7.
1. Ensure proper dressing procedures are followed in a manner to prevent the contamination of carcasses and other meat products.
2. Ensure Good Manufacturing and Personnel Hygiene Practices are followed in a manner to prevent the contamination of carcasses/meat products with
biological hazards.
3. Prevent airborne contamination of the meat products, especially carcasses.
4. Use at least one pathogen-reduction intervention (e.g. antimicrobial spray, steam/hot water pasteurization).
5. Operators must comply with carcass cooling performance requirements.
6. Ensure conditions under which the carcasses are stored and transported are satisfactory.
Operators may also choose to:
· Talk to producers and transporters on pre-harvest practices aimed at reducing E. coli O157:H7 in live animals presented for slaughter.
· Pay close attention to the cleanliness of animals (i.e. mud scoring) at live animal receiving and use this information to determine appropriate control steps (e.g. add more trimmers to the production line).
· Use appropriate trimming procedures to remove visible contamination.
Source : Agriculture and Forestry