USDA Maintains Safety Of U.S.Beef | The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA...
USDA Maintains Safety Of U.S.Beef
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) held a press conference on the BSE situation on the morning of December 26. The USDA’s Ed Collet moderated and the FDA’s Dr. Steve Sundlof and Dr. Ron DeHaven, USDA’s chief veterinarian, took part.
In answer to a question from ABC News, DeHaven said that it is premature to speculate about which herd the affected animal was born into, but this is the emphasis of the USDA’s investigation. The USDA has identified the farm on which the animal lived, the slaughterhouse that killed it, a boning plant which then received the carcass, and two processing plants which processed the animal.
The animal was culled because of complications resulting from pregnancy. An antemortem inspection found no other problems with the animal. The specific risk materials associated with BSE were removed and sent to a rendering plant for use in inedible products. They are not in the human food stream. Thanks to the feed ban these materials are not fed to other ruminants. The Class II recall ordered in response to the lone BSE case is an “abundance of precaution” since the threat to consumer health is negligible.
The animal had three calves — one died at birth, the other two have been traced and are being quarantined and examined.
The USDA, said DeHaven, is working to develop an animal identification system and this single BSE case highlights the importance of traceability. In 2003, the USDA tested 20,926 animals for BSE with only one positive.
The FDA’s Dr. Steve Sundlof told participants that the government would determine if the animal had eaten contaminated feed and where it came from, although this was difficult because it may have been infected early in life and it was difficult to determine all it had eaten and where all its feed came from. All feed companies in the Washingtonarea are in compliance with BSE regulations today, but compliance was less when regulations were first enacted.
USMEF is working on the immediate problem of more than 1,800 containers of fresh and frozen beef currently en route to countries that have instituted bans on U.S. beef products. Like all U.S. beef, USMEF believes this product, shipped prior to the discovery of BSE, is safe and should be accepted by the importing countries.
A high-level USDA team led by David Hegwood, special counsel to USDA Secretary Venemen, will discuss this situation with counterparts in Japan, South Korea and possibly other Asian trading partners.
A statement by President & CEO Philip Seng is online. It reads, in part:
“There continues to be ample reason to maintain confidence in the U.S. beef production system, and USMEF and USDA will do everything in their power to communicate this confidence to our trading partners worldwide.”
USDA Maintains Safety Of U.S.Beef
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) held a press conference on the BSE situation on the morning of December 26. The USDA’s Ed Collet moderated and the FDA’s Dr. Steve Sundlof and Dr. Ron DeHaven, USDA’s chief veterinarian, took part.
In answer to a question from ABC News, DeHaven said that it is premature to speculate about which herd the affected animal was born into, but this is the emphasis of the USDA’s investigation. The USDA has identified the farm on which the animal lived, the slaughterhouse that killed it, a boning plant which then received the carcass, and two processing plants which processed the animal.
The animal was culled because of complications resulting from pregnancy. An antemortem inspection found no other problems with the animal. The specific risk materials associated with BSE were removed and sent to a rendering plant for use in inedible products. They are not in the human food stream. Thanks to the feed ban these materials are not fed to other ruminants. The Class II recall ordered in response to the lone BSE case is an “abundance of precaution” since the threat to consumer health is negligible.
The animal had three calves — one died at birth, the other two have been traced and are being quarantined and examined.
The USDA, said DeHaven, is working to develop an animal identification system and this single BSE case highlights the importance of traceability. In 2003, the USDA tested 20,926 animals for BSE with only one positive.
The FDA’s Dr. Steve Sundlof told participants that the government would determine if the animal had eaten contaminated feed and where it came from, although this was difficult because it may have been infected early in life and it was difficult to determine all it had eaten and where all its feed came from. All feed companies in the Washingtonarea are in compliance with BSE regulations today, but compliance was less when regulations were first enacted.
USMEF is working on the immediate problem of more than 1,800 containers of fresh and frozen beef currently en route to countries that have instituted bans on U.S. beef products. Like all U.S. beef, USMEF believes this product, shipped prior to the discovery of BSE, is safe and should be accepted by the importing countries.
A high-level USDA team led by David Hegwood, special counsel to USDA Secretary Venemen, will discuss this situation with counterparts in Japan, South Korea and possibly other Asian trading partners.
A statement by President & CEO Philip Seng is online. It reads, in part:
“There continues to be ample reason to maintain confidence in the U.S. beef production system, and USMEF and USDA will do everything in their power to communicate this confidence to our trading partners worldwide.”