The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun testing beef for six additional strains of E. coli, a move that industry experts say will lead to dramatically higher costs for meatpackers in Northern Colorado and elsewhere, as well as consumers.

The new approach, including tests that meatpackers must conduct on their own, could cost six times as much as meatpackers have previously spent, industry experts say.

Larger meatpackers may have to spend as much as $30,000 daily when they previously have spent about $4,000 to $5,000, Colorado State University Professor Keith Belk said.

Belk, a member of a food-safety committee that has advised Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS on the matter, said companies also will have to hire additional quality assurance employees to ensure compliance.

The somewhat frustrating fact, he said, is that most of the illnesses stemming from these E. coli strains likely come from food products other than beef. The new tests will be done on raw beef trimmings, which are used in ground beef.

"I'm bothered by it because it's not a fact-based, science-based regulation," he said. "But it's not a bad thing. It's more like a preventative measure."

"And I think that's