The federal government is taking steps to prevent future outbreaks of foodborne illness as investigators probe E. coli at Chipotle.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a new measure on Monday to take on foodborne illnesses linked to ground beef, focusing on trying to prevent such outbreaks before they occur.
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Foodborne illnesses sicken an estimated 48 million people each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The USDA will require all makers of raw ground beef products to keep adequate records of their source material. That can help officials quickly work with the suppliers to recall contaminated meat, the agency said.
“Outbreak investigations can be hindered when retail stores produce ground beef by mixing product from various sources but fail to keep clear records that would allow investigators to determine which supplier produced the unsafe product,” the agency said.
Mixing cuts of beef from different sources has led to outbreaks before, most notably a salmonella outbreak in 2011 in Maine.
The measures come as federal safety officials are still trying to get a handle on a multi-state outbreak of E. coli at the popular eatery Chipotle. About 52 people have been sickened across nine states. Another 140 people have become sick from a norovirus linked to a Chipotle near Boston College.
It is not known which food actually started the E. coli outbreak, but the federal government is investigating.
