Swift Greeley slaughterhouse plans irradiation, E. coli testing, says "workers can stop the line" (sic) OCA has highlighted some information of interest. Jan 14, 2003 (The Denver Post) -- The former ConAgra slaughterhouse in Greeley is spending millions to beef up food safety -- and its image -- in a sweeping set of changes. For example, the plant is the first large meatpacker in the country to test and hold beef from shipment until results show it's free of potentially lethal pathogens. Further, the company plans later this year to have some of its meat irradiated, ensuring bacteria such as E.coli are dead. (OCA note: irradiation does NOT ensure that all bacteria are dead - it does NOT sterilize the meat) The plant, now known as Swift & Co., has committed more than $4 million to a variety of changes designed to make its meat safer, a spokesman said. In July, the plant endured the third-largest beef recall in history. Swift officials won't detail all the changes, protecting them as trade secrets. Among those they did discuss: washing carcasses more efficiently; lighting work areas better; testing meat more often; training employees more thoroughly; and improving work conditions. "While the company has gone more than six years with only one pathogen-related recall, we're making many changes to enhance already effective food safety processes and procedures," Swift spokesman Jim Herlihy said. Some consumer safety groups heralded Swift's actions as long overdue but said time will show whether the company carries them out with zeal. Swift has spent nearly $30 million in the past three years improving its production and food safety programs, Herlihy said. The company is taking the unprecedented step of inviting media, politicians and industry journalists inside a plant once closed to them. "We think it's important outsiders see what we are doing," Herlihy said. That's a switch from the company's hunker-down attitude last summer when it recalled 18.6 million pounds of beef because of E.coli concerns. "Swift is taking some huge steps that are to be applauded, but I'm also taking it with cautious, measured optimism," said Caroline Smith-DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group in Washington, D.C. "Unfortunately it took a major recall and outbreak to get the company to take these steps. Hopefully others won't wait for a major food safety crisis to follow Swift's lead." Herlihy said visitors will see more than two dozen food-safety changes, some the first in the beef industry. Foremost is additional testing for pathogens on meat destined to become hamburger or sausage, Herlihy said. Before the recall, ConAgra workers only tested for E.coli 0157:H7 in some trimmings, pieces of meat destined to become ground beef. The U.S. Department of Agriculture did not test any meat at plant before the recall. Now the agency conducts random tests there. (OCA note: "USDA inspected" these days means one inspector at the end of the line) Days after the recall, Swift began holding meat shipments until tests showed they were free of E.coli. Swift is the first large meatpacker to do this, according to Herlihy and Swift's competitors. The practice surpasses USDA rules, which allow a company to ship meat before test results are in. "For Swift to test and hold product is huge," Smith-DeWaal said. "This shows they're willing to test to be sure their production system is working." E.coli contamination comes from cattle feces spattered during slaughter, so Swift has added new procedures to keep feces off carcasses in the first place. Dirty hides often are the first cause of slaughterhouse filth, so Swift has begun washing cattle before they enter the plant. Swift also washes the cow hide before it is stripped off the dead animal, Herlihy said. The production line, where carcasses are disemboweled and partly disassembled, has additional lighting to help workers find and trim contamination. If any worker sees a food- or work-safety problem, they're encouraged to push one of several new buttons to stop the line, a costly move that halts production. "If they feel they cannot handle a situation, contamination or not, while the carcass is in front of them, they should stop the line," Herlihy said workers are being told in their new training. (OCA note: don't believe the PR, even USDA inspectors are heavily pressured not to stop the line. Workers will almost certainly lose their jobs if they stop the line for ANY reason.) "Orientation for employees will be longer and all employees will receive more specific information about pathogens," Herlihy said. The company also is trying to reduce the chances that contamination will be transferred from a carcass to another surface, such as other meat. Swift now places the carcasses father apart, gives workers a second knife to use while the first is sterilizing, and gives employees more time to check for filth before the last USDA inspection. Swift plans to send some meat to be irradiated with electricity, a process that has not caught on with consumers. Irradiation, Herlihy said, "is not the silver bullet to food safety. ... We view it only as one of many food-safety tools." By David Migoya