A Personal Look at USDA Food Safety Postcards – ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

At the time of the 1993 outbreak, inspectors from the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) would approve or reject meat by looking over each carcass as it moved through the slaughterhouses. This accepted meat inspection procedure of “poke and sniff” had been used since the passage of the 1906 Federal Meat Inspection Act.

In those days, before Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) was a common industry term, the road to a “Science, Public-Health-Based” meat and poultry inspection system would take some time. Secretary Espy proclaimed that, in the absence of a way to detect or prevent the presence of the bacteria, the USDA must do “everything [they] can do to help inform consumers about proper preparation and storage of not-ready-to-eat meat and poultry.” In the wake of the outbreak, the USDA’s Pathogen Reduction Program included a consumer awareness portion, described as a “bold action” that will educate the general public.

The USDA tried, in October of 1993, to get the “Food Safe Handling Labels” onto packages of raw meat and poultry. This was a bold move, but not one without precedent in other industries. Though I worked in D.C. with the USDA to get these labels developed and approved, the attempt to get the message about food safety out there was not as initially successful as desired. Americans continued to hear news reports concerning more deaths related to smaller E. coli outbreaks in other parts of the country. By March of 1994, only a very short list of stores voluntarily used the labels on meat packages. This was not, however, the only means of communicating a food safety message.

Along with labels affixed to packages of raw meat and poultry, the USDA’s Pathogen Reduction Program included the distribution of “Safe Hamburger Postcards.”

Safe Hamburger Postcards

In meetings and discussions with USDA administrators during this time, I aired my frustration over the forces within the industry that thwarted consumer education. Many within the department expressed a level of frustration towards the many setbacks. The idea of the postcard came up, but everyone involved in these discussions stressed that, as this project would involve a greater emphasis on educating consumers—specifically about ground beef, the industry would object. A few other consumer advocates and I sat in meetings with several USDA staff members to discuss and, at times, debate the wording to use and the specific messages to include before the cards went to print.

The final product, appearing as a postcard from USDA Secretary Espy to parents, carried images and a message that support the “Recipe for a Safe and Delicious Hamburger.” The postcard mentioned “ground meat” and “raw meat” but never actually had the word “beef” on them at all.

The postcard included a short message from Secretary Espy that indicated his “love” for a “great hamburger” while reiterating the same four key points which appear on the safety labels—labels that would be required to be placed on all raw meat and poultry products after May 27, 1994. However, whereas the safety labels only stated “Cook thoroughly,” the postcards said much more about the ways in which one can make sure that a hamburger patty is completely cooked, as well as the temperature to which it should be cooked.

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USDA postcard (back)

In his message, Espy identified himself as the secretary of agriculture and wrote how the hamburger is “truly an American tradition,” but also warned that “hamburgers and other meat products could contain bacteria that is (sic) harmful if not cooked or handled properly.”

Beyond the actual message, the way it was distributed played an important role in the effectiveness of the message. On May 3, 1994, the USDA began sending out more than five million of these cards to elementary students across the nation. The USDA distributed the postcards through the School Nurses Association of America, which, in turn, sent the cards home with elementary school students as a message from the school nurse. Ideally, their involvement caused parents to take notice and, according to conversations I had with USDA administrators, feel motivated by this message to change their perception of meat hazards and to adopt behavior indicative of their understanding of this issue.