USDA Beef Testing Is Flawed, Groups Say

WASHINGTON, D.C.

*

A bacteria testing system meant to ensure that ground beef is safe instead is allowing potentially tainted meat to be put on the market, consumer advocacy groups said.

A study of Agriculture Department records found the meat safety system plagued by delays after it was started in early 1998.

At some plants, testing stopped for months at a time before being completed. In other cases, the department waited weeks to take corrective action at plants that had clearly flunked, said the report by Public Citizen and the Government Accountability Project.

The report accused USDA of operating under a “don’t look, don’t find policy” that is “fundamentally deceiving the public with false reassurances” about meat safety.

Elsa Murano, USDA undersecretary for food safety, said the testing “is continuously being reviewed, evaluated and improved.”