Food safety is a critical component of every phase of BPI's operations, beginning with procurement of raw materials, through customer education on the best methods for incorporating BPI products into their own production to ensure maximum benefit from BPI technologies.

Raw materials are purchased only from suppliers who have validated CCP's in place for pathogen elimination or reduction. Those raw materials are transported to BPI and stored in a manner to minimize any potential bacterial growth. Those raw materials are then subjected to up to four processing steps, each of which independently produces microbiological reductions. When all of those processing steps are combined, as with the production of BPI^® Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings (blocks), the microbiological reductions are truly impressive.

In two independent process validation studies conducted by Iowa State University and National Food Laboratory, Inc., the BPI process¹ eliminated all E.coliO157:H7 in the inoculated product, as well as producing significant reductions of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. The Iowa State study has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Food Protection. The chart below summarizes the resutls of those two studies:

Iowa State Study   National Food Lab Study   E.coli O157:H7 Log10 Salmonella Log10 Listeria Mono. Log10 E.coli O157:H7 Log10 Salmonella Log10 Listeria Mono. Log10 Inoculated Product 6.0 6.0 5.0 7.10 6.97 7.22 Step 1 Enhanced pH 3.0 4.0 0.5 .69 1.02 .02 Step 2 Freeze/stress No Separate Pathogen Reduction Data Available For These Steps. .74 .64 .05 Step 3 Compression 1.40 1.04 .39 Step 4 Frozen grind > 4.27 3.27 1.10 Total Reduction 6.0 6.0 3.5 > 7.102 5.95 1.55

All data above represent Log₁₀ bacterial population or reduction in population resulting
from each processing step.

Not only is the quality of BPI's product ensured, but BPI customers have reported significant microbiological improvements – reductions in bacteria – in their finished products resulting from the use/blending of BPI^® Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings. In inoculated product studies, blending BPI^® Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings at a 15% blend rate with inoculated ground beef resulted in E.coli O157:H7 reductions of nearly .25 Log₁₀. This reduction exceeds the most probable number of organisms associated with the large³ notable outbreak in 1992/93 in the western USA at quick service restaurant chain. As noted in the Iowa State study, "the reduction in populations of pathogenic bacteria reported in this study would provide a significant margin of safety."

¹ The four process steps including pH enhancement, freeze/stressing, block compression, and customer frozen block grinding (1/4 inch preferred).
² National Food Laboratory, Inc. determined the reduction potential for E.coli O157:H7 was > 8.50 log.
³ See: Lessons from a large outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections: insights into the infectious dose and method of widespread contamination of hamburger patties. 1999 Epidemiol. Infect. 185-192, Cambridge University Press.

© 2008 Beef Products, Inc.