St. Louis (May 22, 2003) - From the site of the USMEF Board of Directors Meet...
Published: Aug 29, 2003
St. Louis (May 22, 2003) - From the site of the USMEF Board of Directors Meeting. "We extend our sympathy and support to the producers of Canada whose industry will undoubtedly be impacted for many weeks and months after the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in their country. But we trust that Canada’s surveillance system has performed as it should and that this situation will be resolved quickly. The Canadian system prevented potentially-infected product from entering the food supply, thus protecting consumers.
“Meanwhile, I’d like to assure our trading partners that the United States remains BSE-free and that U.S. products remain the safest in the world. This nation has for more than 15 years diligently maintained a triple-firewall defense to keep our herds – and our products – free of this disease. Our inspection and surveillance system is applied to every animal entering our system, from whatever source. All cattle are inspected by a veterinarian before going to slaughter. Animals with any signs of neurological disorder are not permitted to enter the human food chain and are tested for BSE. These samples are sent overnight to a federal laboratory, and the average turn-around time for the test is eight days. It is also important to recognize that the BSE agent is not found in meat, but only in central nervous system tissue such as brain and spinal cord. “A multi-year risk analysis conducted by Harvard University reported: ‘The U.S. is highly resistant to any introduction of BSE.’ Harvard’s report also said: ‘Measures taken by the U.S. government and industry make the U.S. robust against the spread of BSE to animals or humans should it be introduced into this country.’
“Our field directors, through 13 offices worldwide, are working closely with their counterparts locally and with our embassies, USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service Agricultural Trade Offices, USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and others to assure our customers and trading partners that U.S. product is safe and will remain safe.”
“Meanwhile, I’d like to assure our trading partners that the United States remains BSE-free and that U.S. products remain the safest in the world. This nation has for more than 15 years diligently maintained a triple-firewall defense to keep our herds – and our products – free of this disease. Our inspection and surveillance system is applied to every animal entering our system, from whatever source. All cattle are inspected by a veterinarian before going to slaughter. Animals with any signs of neurological disorder are not permitted to enter the human food chain and are tested for BSE. These samples are sent overnight to a federal laboratory, and the average turn-around time for the test is eight days. It is also important to recognize that the BSE agent is not found in meat, but only in central nervous system tissue such as brain and spinal cord. “A multi-year risk analysis conducted by Harvard University reported: ‘The U.S. is highly resistant to any introduction of BSE.’ Harvard’s report also said: ‘Measures taken by the U.S. government and industry make the U.S. robust against the spread of BSE to animals or humans should it be introduced into this country.’
“Our field directors, through 13 offices worldwide, are working closely with their counterparts locally and with our embassies, USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service Agricultural Trade Offices, USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and others to assure our customers and trading partners that U.S. product is safe and will remain safe.”