The E. coli O157:H7 strain of bacteria has been found to cause serious harm, especially to children, senior citizens and those with weak immune systems.

Dr. Richard Raymond, US under secretary for food safety, said that despite major advances in battling foodborne illnesses like E-coli in the country during the last decade, reduction levels have recently levelled out.

The programme will include updating and enhancing existing controls to reduce the number of cases in poultry by 10% annually.

Ms Jones said: “The proposed regulations will provide a framework for the National Control Programme (NCP) that details the phases of production which sampling and testing for the Salmonellas must cover.

“The programme will set a target for an annual reduction of at least 10% in the number of positive adult laying flocks, compared with the previous year. The starting baseline in Wales and for the rest of the UK, will be 8% prevalence of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium serotypes.

The plan is being considered as the USDA puts the final touches on a proposed disclosure rule. It had lingered in draft form for two years until getting pushed to the forefront in February, when 143 million pounds of beef were recalled by Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino, Calif., after undercover video by an animal-rights activist showed workers abusing crippled cows.

Agriculture Department spokesman Chris Connelly confirmed Wednesday that the agency is weighing whether to make naming the stores mandatory only for so-called “Class I” recalls, which pose the greatest health hazard. The Chino recall was categorized as “Class II” because authorities determined there was minimal risk to human health.

Currently, the government discloses only a recall itself. It does not list which retailers might have received recalled meat. The same holds true for recalled vegetables.

Large community foodborne outbreaks of E. coli O157 have been recorded in many countries including Wales, says the National Public Health Service for Wales.

An outbreak of E. coli O157 occurred in September/October 2005 with cases recorded in 44 different schools in the South Wales valleys. In total 157 people, mainly children, fell ill and a five-year old child died. The source of the outbreak was identified as cooked meat supplied to the school meals service by butcher John Tudor and Son.

Once a person has contracted an E. coli infection, it is relatively common for the infection to be transmitted to a close associate, such as a family member. A new analysis of the 2005 South Wales outbreak, based on records collected at the time by Environmental Health Officers, was undertaken by epidemiologists at the National Public Health Service (NPHS) Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC).