Boyle told the Subcommittee that both pathogenic bacteria on meat and poultry products and associated foodborne illnesses have declined markedly in the last decade. Since 2000, the industry has reduced the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef by 45 percent to less than one-half percent. The prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat products has been reduced by 74 percent to less than 0.4 percent. Similar improvements in the incidence of foodborne illness have also been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In that regard, since 2000, illnesses caused by E. coli O157:H7 are down by 40 percent and listeriosis is down by 10 percent with much of the improvement occurring before 2000.
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