Comment from Sofia Karvouna

Dear USDA: This labeling regulation is long overdue. Mechanically tenderized beef has been responsible for five E.coli outbreaks in the past ten years, including the multi million pound recall of Canadian beef last year. Canada now requires this product to be labeled. The United States must also label this product. I have a right to know what I’m eating and what I’m serving my family. I don’t want to take the chance of getting sick from the food I eat – especially since USDA studies show that mechanically tenderized beef has a higher risk of being contaminated with deadly pathogens. Label mechanically tenderized beef so consumers know how to cook it to prevent foodborne illness. I hope you move quickly to implement this proposal. My health is too important to risk foodborne illness from mechanically tenderized beef. I have a right to know what I’m eating. And, producers have an obligation to tell me when the product I’m choosing has been mechanically tenderized. Sincerely, Sofia Karvouna