The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has finalized rule to label mechanically tenderized raw or partially cooked beef products.
The new requirements, when put into effect in May 2016, will provide consumers, restaurants, and other food service facilities with detailed information about the products they are buying, as well as cooking instructions to safely prepare them.
The move comes as mechanically tenderized products need to be handled differently, although they look no different than intact products.
The tenderized products may possibly contain pathogens as some cuts of beef are tenderized mechanically by piercing them with needles or small blades in order to break up tissue for increasing tenderness. This process can introduce pathogens from the surface of the cut to the interior, making proper cooking important.
In order to tackle the potential presence of pathogens in the interior, tenderized products should be cooked differently than intact cuts.
FSIS Deputy Under Secretary Al Almanza said: "Labeling mechanically tenderized beef products and including cooking instructions on the package are important steps in helping consumers to safely prepare these products.
"This common sense change will lead to safer meals and fewer foodborne illnesses."