To ensure the safety of food distributed through the National School Lunch Program, food banks, and other federal food and nutrition programs, the United States Department of Agriculture has established food safety and quality requirements for the ground beef it purchases. This National Research Council report reviews the scientific basis of the Department’s ground beef safety standards, evaluates how the standards compare to those used by large retail and commercial food service purchasers of ground beef, and looks at ways to establish periodic evaluations of the Federal Purchase Ground Beef Program.