Beef will be tested for six more types of E.coli bacteria starting next year, the U.S. government announced Tuesday.
Beginning in March 2012, if raw beef tests positive for E.coli serogroups O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 and O145, it will be banned from the market, AFP reports.
The US currently tests for one strain of E.coli O157:H7 in beef, according to AFP.
The six strains are known as non-O157:H7 Shiga-toxin producing E.coli, and can cause a range of symptoms, from diarrhea to kidney failure, AFP reports.
"Too often, we are caught reacting to a problem instead of preventing it. This new policy will help stop problems before they start," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, as reported by AFP.
Additional testing "will help prevent future outbreaks," at "reasonable" costs of "half a million dollars for the USDA and under five million for the entire $155-billion US meat industry," the Center for Science in the Public Interest told AFP.
The six additional types of E.coli can survive in meat that is cooked to a pink center, and even very low doses can cause potentially fatal illnesses particularly in children and the elderly, the Department of Agriculture told AFP.
"These organisms could survive in a hamburger that is not properly cooked," said USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Elisabeth Hagen, as reported by AFP.
