In response to an investigation by USA Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it will take steps to improve food safety in the National School Lunch Program. Those steps include raising the standards for ground beef, testing that beef more thoroughly, and better communication within the department to identify potential safety issues before they become a problem.
[USA Today] found that McDonald’s and other fast-food chains are far more rigorous than the government in checking for bacteria and dangerous pathogens in beef. USA TODAY also found that the government lacks ways to quickly alert schools when products have been recalled or implicated in safety investigations.
The measures outlined Thursday are intended to address each of those points, bringing the standards and testing protocols in line with those used by the most selective restaurants and retailers. “It’s a big deal,” food safety consultant David Theno said of the USDA measures. He said the moves will push companies to “play to a higher standard” if they want to continue to supply food to schools.
And who knew USA Today did quality investigative reporting? I mean, besides the little infographic on the corner of the front page that polls how many people like golf.
Here’s the whole thing at USA Today. Photo by SpecialKRB.
