All Hamburger Meat Not Created Equal; Fallacies Run Rampant In Hamburger Meat Safety Issue; Safe hamburger meat is possible, with stringent microbial controls by manufacturers, suppliers and retailers.

SAN DIEGO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 22, 1997--A respected food safety expert says the public's alarm about the safety of hamburger meat as a result of a recent meat recall should be tempered once they know that there are proven scientific steps that manufacturers, suppliers and food service industry have adopted to ensure consumers' food safety.

"The fact is, not all hamburger meat is created equal," said David Theno, Ph.D., vice president of quality assurance, research and development and technical services at Foodmaker, Inc., operator and franchisor of Jack in the Box(R) restaurants. "There are food companies out there that are doing the right things to ensure the safety of hamburger meat in the food chain. Central to their food safety efforts is microbial testing to control and eliminate the O157:H7 bacteria. Today, there are hamburger manufacturers out there doing microbial testing every 15 minutes to test for O157:H7. If it is found, that lot is destroyed and removed from the food chain."

Theno's prescription for hamburger meat safety ultimately calls for HACCP-based (hazard analysis critical control points) food safety systems covering the entire food chain -- from meat manufacturers and hamburger patty suppliers to retail outlets such as grocery stores and restaurants. Patterned after NASA's food safety program to ensure safe food for astronauts in the 1960s, HACCP systems encompass step-by-step procedures to ensure the weeding out of dangerous pathogens in a food supply. Theno instituted the fast-food industry's most comprehensive HACCP program at Jack in the Box restaurants after a 1993 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in the Pacific Northwest. The company's HACCP program has been recognized as the gold standard by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Theno said, "Jack in the Box restaurants' microbial testing of hamburger for O157:H7 has resulted in the lowest microbial counts in the industry, something no one thought would be possible. And we've accomplished this for less than a penny per pound of hamburger meat. Since we installed our HACCP procedures in 1993, we've never had a problem with E. coli O157:H7 in any of the products served in our restaurants."

"One of the key fallacies here is that the new government meat inspection regulations are going to fix the whole problem," said Theno. "Important as they are, the USDA meat inspection regulations won't solve the entire food safety problem. It is only one of the many steps necessary to ensure `farm to fork' safety in the food chain."

"People have to also remember that they, too, should take part in ensuring the foods they eat are safe. With hamburgers, the USDA says you should cook them to a minimum 160 degrees, use a thermometer and check that the meat is done and that there are no pink juices. Ultimately, food safety is in the hands of everyone in the food chain," said Theno.

Recently appointed to the USDA National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection, Theno is the fast-food industry's exclusive representative on the 16-member committee. As mandated by federal law, the USDA National Advisory Committee serves to advise the Secretary of Agriculture on state and federal programs affecting the nation's meat and poultry supply.

Foodmaker, Inc. (NYSE:FM) operates and franchises 1,280 Jack in the Box restaurants, primarily in the western United States. With revenues of over one billion dollars, the company has 26,000 employees and is headquartered in San Diego.

Backgrounder 

Jack in the Box(R) restaurants instituted the restaurant industry's most comprehensive HACCP (hazard analysis critical control points) food safety program in 1993. Patterned after NASA's program to ensure safe food for astronauts in the 1960s, the company's HACCP system has been called the gold standard in food safety systems by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The Jack in the Box HACCP program, tied with the HACCP programs of their suppliers, includes these steps to ensure the control and elimination of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria in its hamburger meat supply:

I. At The Slaughterhouse/Fabricator

- animal inspection

- proper de-hiding procedure

- proper removal of viscera 

- proper cutting/trimming procedures

- temperature control

- proper employee practices

II. At The Hamburger Patty Manufacturer

- proper employee practices

- raw material inspection

- raw material microbiological profiling

- raw material storage temperature

- process documentation

- process temperature control

- process procedures

- finished product

III. During Hamburger Transportation

- trailer inspection

- container inspection

- trailer temperature monitoring

IV. In Distribution/Storage

- trailer inspection

- travel temperature verification

- receiving temperature

- visual inspection

- storage temperature

- documentation of product codes

V. In-Restaurant Procedures

- proper employee practices

- proper receiving temperature

- proper storage temperature

- grill calibration/maintenance

- no bare hand contact with hamburger patties

- proper use of cooking tools

- proper and sufficient cook time

VI. Restaurant Daily Verification of Operations

- employee health and hygiene

- hand washing and sanitizing

- proper and sanitized equipment

- grill calibration and temperature verification

- hamburger patty cooking verification

- HACCP documentation and corrective actions as needed 

CONTACT: Foodmaker, Inc., San Diego

Shirley Gines, 619/571-2674