1	E.COLI 0157:h7 Turning the Corner?
2	ECH7 Incident Rate
3	USDA ECH7 Rates
4	USDA School Lunch Ground Beef Testing Program
5	ECH7 Incidence Overview
6	ECH7 incidence is NOT increasing. The appearance of increased of ECH7 over past several years is likely due to: Change to more sensitive lab methods, Change in sampling methodologies, Increase sampling frequencies, Increased public health incident reporting are likely responsible for the occurrence of greater ECH7 findings over past several years.
7	ECH7 - Seasonal Effect
8	USDA ECH7 Month#
9	Beef Trim - Seasonal Trends
10	ECH7 Seasonal Effect There is definite a “warm-season” effect for ECH7 incidence in ground beef and trim. Peak effects occur in different summer month periods, depending on the year. There may be a 2-tiered (or even 3-tiered) season effect (late spring through early fall).
11	ECH7 - To The Plant
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13	ECH7 - Interventions Modern hide removal & dressing procedures at slaughter, coupled with thermal [whole] carcass pasteurization, are very effective in reducing incidence & prevalence of ECH7 on the carcass surface.
14	Validation of Steam Pasteurization Cabinet
15	ECH7 & ECsp There is little [if any] relationship of ECH7 to generic E.coli I [species] that occurs on the carcass, in trim, or in ground beef. We have not been able to demonstrate any relationship of ECH7 incident to other pathogens such as SLM or LSTm.
16	Closing Points 0157:H7 is widespread in the herd, environment, in non-meat foods, and in the general meat/food/water supply. 0157:H7 in meat/food is of much higher incidence than originally believed back in 1994, when it was deemed as an adulterant in raw ground beef. 0157:H7 is a widely dispersed, naturally occurring bacteria and deeming it as a zero tolerance adulterant in a raw meat, any different than any other pathogen or bacterial specie, is an ill-founded regulatory policy.
17	Closing Points 0157:H7 is sporadic and unpredictable. When found, it is of very low enumeration, usually only fractions of cells/gm.