NATIONAL MEAT
ASSOCIATION h 1970
Broadway, Suite 825, Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 763-1533 Fax (510) 763-6186 h Email Address: [email protected] h http://www.nmaonline.org
Edited by Kiran Kernellu
July 7, 2003
U.S./CANADA TRADE
Four major industry groups, NCBA, CCA (Canadian Cattlemen’s
Association), NMA and AMI, wrote to Ag leaders in the United States and Canada
(Ag Secretary Veneman, Ag Minister VanClief, FDA Commissioner McClellan, and
Health Minister McLellan) last week urging them to make science-based decisions
to support livestock trade and to protect the public health. In so doing, the groups urged the two countries
to communicate with their global trading parners and others to gain acceptance
of the decisions, and that the U.S. Canadian border be reopened to the movement
of cattle, beef and beef products on the basis of the Harvard University BSE
Risk Assessment. They urged the
completion of the three-step process by the end of July 2003. To assist in this
effort, the groups urged the establishment of a global definition and
enforcement program for SRM based on sound science, and the protection of
public health by preventing SRMs from being incorporated into any beef product
for consumers. Further, the groups call
for an action plan outlining how to expand BSE surveillance, development of an
animal ID system in the U.S. that will allow quick response in the event of an
animal disease situation, and communication of the application of the Harvard
RA model, in consultation with scientists, animal health experts, packers and
producers. Finally, the groups urged
that an international forum convene to address the issues and response plans
based upon known science.
The groups concluded by stating their belief that trade with North
America and the Asian market, based on science, is achievable during the month
of July, and offering to meet with the government leaders to discuss the
matters.
Finally,
NMA learned that President George Bush and Prime Minister Chrétien discussed
the border issue in a telephone call for 30 minutes this morning.
CFIA’S REPORT ON
BSE CASE
On July 2, 2003 the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) released its
“Narrative Background to Canada’s Assessment of and Response to the BSE
Occurrence in Alberta.” View the complete report on the Web at: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/bseesb/evale.shtml.
The narrative offers more history of the single case of BSE:
“On January 31, 2003, a beef cow (which had a
previous unrevealed period of abnormal behavior) was found recumbent and unable
to rise, was hoisted onto a truck and delivered to a provincially inspected
abattoir in the Peace River District of Northern Alberta. On the movement
manifest provincially required for transport, it was described only as a “black
cow,” with no additional distinguishing natural or artificial features
recorded. The inexperienced producer had not sought veterinary attention and
shipped the animal in an attempt to salvage meat for personal use. The animal
qualified for BSE surveillance under the active national program and its head
was forwarded to the Province of Alberta for assessment and incineration. The
carcass was condemned because of pneumonia. Under Canadian program
requirements, any carcass destined for human consumption that is subjected to
TSE testing must be held, pending reporting of the test results. Since the
carcass was condemned and it was not allowed to enter the human food chain, the
carcass was not held and was instead sent to rendering, where it entered into
the animal feed chain. National surveillance initiatives, when aimed only at
reconfirming what is already believed to be disease freedom, are ranked in
priority second to other demands which may entail direct and immediate public
health consequences. They also compete with the multiple other diagnostic
urgencies which confront national and sub-national veterinary authorities
engaged in active disease control programs. For that reason, it was not until
May 16, 2003, that a tentative diagnosis of BSE was made at the sub-national
level. Federal review followed immediately, with the Weybridge Central
Veterinary Laboratory in the U.K. employed within 48 hours as the ultimate
confirmation. The OIE General Session, then in progress, was notified
immediately.
“The index case was of the Angus breed and a member
of a herd of 80 cows established in the interval 2001–2002 from two streams of
cattle. It is most probable, based on the investigation to June 24, 2003, that
she was six years of age. Her expression of BSE at that advanced age offers the
incident’s first epidemiological insight, that into the probable low level of
BSE that she had contacted, based on dose-response incubation curves
established in the U.K. for exposures as low as 1, 0.1 and, most recently, 0.01
grams of infected CNS material.
“The investigation respected the most recent recommendations coming from the OIE’s BSE Ad Hoc Working Group and buttressed them with a ‘precautionary perimeter’ of additional measures aimed at compensating for human nature, cattle identification limitations, and natural variability within BSE epidemiology. It followed parallel animal health and feed investigatory paths, with extensive and independent questioning of each producer by epidemiologists, field veterinarians, and feed experts.”
Page 2
HOW DID BSE GET INTO CANADA?
Last
Thursday, The Edmonton Journal reported that American cattle could be
implicated in the single case of BSE found in Canada. According to the article,
Claude Lavigne, principal spokesman of the CFIA, was quoted as saying, “If the
right theory is that the animal got contaminated by eating contaminated feed,
there’s as much chance that it came from the U.S. as it came from Canada.”
Further, Tom Haney, president of the Canada Beef Export Federation, was quoted
as saying (after reading the report), “We are in the same boat as the United
States. Any further discussions south of the border, or anywhere else, about
Canada representing a higher risk really becomes questionable.”
On a similar note, Cattle
Buyers Weekly reported today that Canada’s single BSE-infected cow may
have originated in the U.S. Citing the CFIA report (referenced in part on page
1 of Lean Trimmings), about 25,000 pregnant cows were imported into
Canada from the U.S. and lost their identification along the way. They later
became part of a Western Canadian cattle population. Seventy to eighty percent
of these were black Angus, as was the index cow. Canada’s DNA investigations can’t
exclude the possibility that the index cow came with the U.S. herd.
DIOXIN
DILEMMA
The New York Times reported Tuesday on the issue of dioxin, the airborne byproduct of
numerous industrial processes and natural occurrences that exists throughout
our environment. The National Academy of Sciences recommended in its report on
the byproduct that the government should encourage women and girls to reduce
the amount of meat, whole milk and other fatty foods to protect themselves and
their offspring against dioxin’s adverse effects. An expert panel headed by Dr.
Robert S. Lawrence, Associate Dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at
Johns Hopkins University, and coincidentally, a member of the board of advisors
for an anti-meat campaign called Meatless Monday (see the April 28, 2003 Herd
on the Hill article “Meat Myths” for more information), said in the Times
report that current test costs made it too expensive to measure the levels
(of dioxin) in food. NCBA reports that dioxin can also be found in vegetables
and vegetable oils, and tends to be deposited in fat and accumulate over time.
Consumers concerned about dioxin can still partake in meat and dairy, but might
want to consider low-fat dairy and lean cuts of meat. The federal government
continues to work toward greater advances in the reduction of dioxin emission,
and monitors levels of dioxin in meat, poultry, dairy products, fish, animal
feed and feed ingredients.
CONFERENCE CALL WITH AMS
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) recently began ground beef and
other meat purchases for the upcoming school year - SY 03-04. These meat
purchases are subject to revised specification and contractual requirements,
and AMS is conducting a conference call on Tuesday, July 8, 2003 at 1:00 p.m.
EDT to facilitate the transition. Call 877-960-7158 and enter pass code 587153#
to participate. Contact Contracting Officer Duane Williams at 202-720-2650 or [email protected] for more
information. See the May 5, May 12, and June 2, 2003 editions of Herd on the
Hill for more information on the revised specification and requirements.
ELECTRONIC
NEWSLETTER
Lean Trimmings and
Herd on the Hill are offered electronically. If you’d like to receive
the newsletter via e-mail, please contact Kiran Kernellu at [email protected] or 510-763-1533.
Receive the latest news every Monday afternoon in your inbox instead of waiting
for it in the mail!
NMA reports news items that are of special interest to
its readers, and provides information that they may want to be able to
access. Below are links to the Federal
Register, AMS, APHIS, and FSIS, respectively:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html
ANIMAL
HANDLING VIDEOS
NMA has available two videotapes on animal handling,
“Animal Stunning for Stunners,” and “Animal Handling in Meat Plants.” NMA
members may purchase these videos at a discounted price. Please contact Julie
Ramsey at [email protected]
or 510-763-1533 for more information.
FISCAL
YEAR 2003 PURCHASES
NMA has available information on the purchases for
Fiscal Year 2003. NMA members contact Kiran Kernellu at [email protected] or 510-763-1533
for a copy.
Page 3
SPY FOR HIRE!
Domestic commercial espionage is alive and well! NMA reported some months ago (Herd on the
Hill March 31, 2003) that some members reported receiving calls purportedly
conducting a survey of 500 plants for information regarding security measures. The more suspicious members called NMA and
we in turn alerted FSIS’s new homeland security program leaders. We suggested that members receiving such
inquiries direct them to FSIS’s Office of Food Security and Emergency
Preparedness.
At a recent FSIS constituency meeting, the subject came up again, and
the chief of the Office reported that he had met with Bob Miller, reportedly
the person responsible for initiating such calls, either by himself or by a
cadre of college-student callers.
Reportedly, Mr. Miller runs a business designed to gather information
for those who retain his services about others in the business through such
telephone surveys. Food Chemical
News in its June 30 publication reported that this is a “perfectly
legitimate firm that’s hired to collect information about competitors.” FCN reported that Miller “apparently
asked whether FSIS could use his firm’s services.” Interestingly, NMA has never heard from Mr. Miller.
MC DONALD’S OBESITY LAWSUIT
Meatingplace.com reported Thursday that lawyers for McDonald’s Corporation urged a
federal judge in Manhattan, NY to dismiss a lawsuit blaming the food chain for
obesity. U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet will decide whether to allow the
suit, which now primarily focuses on deceptive advertising claims, to proceed.
He had dismissed an earlier version of the suit in January and since allowed
the plaintiffs to refile the complaint.
In the original claim, plaintiffs alleged that Chicken McNuggets,
Filet-O-Fish, French fries and other menu items are so processed with additives
and other ingredients that they can pose a health hazard unbeknown to
consumers. The assertion of the re-filed lawsuit focuses on false advertising
claims. McDonald’s lawyers say the claims are flawed. Brad Lerman, a lawyer for
McDonald’s, reportedly told Judge Sweet that a major problem with the case is
that the plaintiffs did not specify which ads they had seen and could not link
advertising to any injuries. Lerman call attention to the fact that the
plaintiffs were too young to have seen or be affected by the 1987 print ads
attached as exhibits in the suit. “There are no allegations that the plaintiffs
saw any of the material that was referenced,” Lerman said in the report.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a study last Wednesday that might
help Mc Donald’s Corp.’s case. Todd Buchholz, former director of economic
policy for the first Bush administration, authored the study. He found that
cheaper food prices and an increasingly sedentary workforce are the primary contributors
to obesity. He also found that fast food contains less fat now than in the
1970s and shouldn’t be the major scapegoat for the obesity epidemic. He noted
that fast food has decreased the cost of protein, a major building block for
the body. What’s more, the study relayed that portion sizes, and fat and
calorie content haven’t increased any more in fast food restaurants than in
most American homes. Additionally, he found that Americans’ trend towards
increasing obesity began last century.
UPCOMING
NMA SEMINARS
July 17-18 - Advanced HACCP --
Los Angeles, CA
August 20 – Regulatory Update
& Issues Seminar – Lake Geneva, WI
August 21-23 - Basic HACCP in Spanish
-- Los Angeles, CA
September 18-20 - Basic
HACCP --
San Francisco, CA
October 1-2 - Beyond Basics -- College Station, TX
Contact NMA at (510)
763-1533 for more information and registration materials.
NMA’S 2003 SUMMER
CONFERENCE
All members are invited to attend NMA’s 2003 Summer
Conference! Download a copy of the brochure, which includes a registration
form, for the Conference at: http://www.nmaonline.org/files/brochure-word.pdf.
Download a registration form for the Regulatory Issues & Update Seminar at:
http://www.nmaonline.org/files/Regulatory
Update _ Issues Seminar-2.pdf. Contact us at [email protected] or
510-763-1533 to receive materials for both events by fax, e-mail or mail.
NMA RESOURCE UNDER REVISION
NMA’s resource, “The Role of Microbiological Testing in Beef Safety Systems,” which was offered in the May 27, 2003 Lean Trimmings, is currently under revision. Once the revisions are complete, the resource will be offered through a notice in the newsletter.
ALL MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO JOIN US FOR NMA’s
2003 SUMMER CONFERENCE and REGULATORY UPDATE & ISSUES SEMINAR!
AUGUST 20-23, 2003
GRAND GENEVA RESORT & SPA, LAKE GENEVA,
WI
For more information, contact NMA at 510-763-1533 or
[email protected]
Page 4
NMA REMEMBERS DON HUNT
NMA is saddened to report the death of Don Hunt on June 27, 2003. Don
was 62. Don had a lifelong career in the meat industry starting with Canada
Packers. He was invested in the livestock industry, raising cattle, bison,
purebred dogs and exotic birds. He was a kind, thoroughly nice man, courteous
and considerate of workers and associates. He was the General Manager of
NMA-member Agriprocessors in Postville, IA, a position that he had held for
more than ten years. We extend to his wife Judy, his family, and his co-workers
our deepest sympathies.
FSIS: MEAT AND
POULTRY ESTABLISHMENTS MUST RE-REGISTER
FSIS published a policy statement and request for comments in the Federal Register entitled, “Need to Complete New Registration Form and Importance of Compliance with Recordkeeping and Registration Requirements Under the Federal Meat and Poultry Products Inspection Regulations,” on June 25, 2003.
FSIS intends to increase its enforcement of the registration and recordkeeping requirements to ensure that all businesses subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act and federal Poultry Products Inspection Act that are required to be registered with FSIS and/or to maintain business records are properly doing so. Further, by the notice, FSIS is also informing the public that the Agency has developed a new registration form. Because this form requires that registrants provide certain information that was not required on the previous form, all parties required to register, including those that are currently registered, must complete the new form and submit it to FSIS. Parties must submit the new registration form to FSIS by March 22, 2004. The new registration form will be available by December 22, 2003. When the new registration form becomes available, parties can access the form on the Web at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgibin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.fsis.usda.gov/fsisforms/.
Comments must be submitted by August 25, 2003. Submit one original and two copies of written comments to FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket No. 01-034N, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700. To obtain a copy of the new registration form, write to USDA, FSIS, Program Evaluation, Enforcement and Review (PEER), Evaluation and Enforcement Division (EED), 300 West End Court Building, 1255 22nd Street NW, Room 300, Washington, DC 20250-3700. View the policy statement and request for comments on the Web at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/01-034N.htm.
NATIONAL MEAT ASSOCIATION
NMA - East: 1400 - 16th St. N.W., Suite 400, Washington D.C. 20036 Ph. (202)
667-2108
NMA - West: 1970
Broadway, Suite 825, Oakland, CA 94612 Ph. (510) 763-1533 Fax (510) 763-6186
Edited by Kiran Kernellu
July
7, 2003
CANADA WOOS JAPAN ON
SAFETY OF BEEF
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien reportedly called his Japanese
counterpart last Tuesday, seeking to persuade him that Canadian beef was safe
to eat. The Toronto Star reported that Chrétien discussed all the
government’s actions since the mad cow crisis erupted and the importance of
basing decisions on scientific evidence and existing international standards.
“It was a very friendly discussion,” Steven Hogue, a spokesperson for the prime
minister, said of Chrétien’s talk with Japan’s Junichiro Koizumi, in the
report. “It was a very good step forward.”
Hogue added that Koizumi confirmed that Japan’s agriculture minister
would visit Canada on July 12 and “agreed to continue to work together in order
to find a solution.” Reportedly, senior
Canadian officials have been trying to persuade Japanese bureaucrats to allow
beef from North America back into their country. As reported last week in Herd
on the Hill, the Japanese stance in this matter is crucial because it’s
central to getting the U.S. border re-opened to Canadian beef, due to the
integration of the North American cattle industry.
The Star further reported that reopening the U.S. border has
become the main priority for the federal government of Canada, according to
Claudio Valle of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. At a special
Commons committee hearing last Monday, Valle said, “I think it’s the top issue
of government right now, reopening the border,” Valle told the agriculture
committee. Valle also told the committee that Ottawa sent a delegation headed
by Dr. Brian Evans of the CFIA to Japan.
There are some in the U.S., however, who are in no hurry to re-open the
border to Canadian ruminants. CNN reported last Wednesday that now, over
a month after a lone case of mad cow disease turned up in Canada, cattle
producers in the U.S. have been heartened by the lack of consumer backlash
against their own beef. In fact, domestic livestock prices rose as a result of
the U.S. border closing to Canadian imports. Choice boxed beef averaged $149
per hundredweight the first week in June, which is a record high, although
prices weakened later in the month as more cattle went to market.
“I would say (mad cow) had very little effect, and I think
the reason for that is the consumer is confident in our government’s inspection
processes,” said Kansas Animal Health Commissioner George Teagarden in the CNN
report. Indeed, Memorial Day weekend was solid in terms of beef sales, and
the holiday weekend was just after the announcement of a single case of BSE in
Canada. The faith of American consumers is well deserved, as U.S. officials
have erred on the side of caution. “We have to wait until we get a final
assessment of their tracing,” Teagarden reportedly said. “And try to determine
exactly how this cow became infected and why and where - and make sure that is
probably the only animal infected before we consider opening the border yet.”
AMS CHANGES FEES FOR FEDERAL MEAT GRADING AND CERTIFICATION SERVICES
Last Thursday, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published a final rule in the Federal Register entitled, “Changes in Fees for Federal Meat Grading and Certification Services.” Effective July 13, 2003, the rule revises the hourly fees charged for voluntary Federal meat grading and certification services performed by the Meat Grading and Certification (MGC) Branch. The hourly fees will be adjusted to reflect the increased cost of providing service, and to ensure that the Federal meat grading and certification program operates on a financially self-supporting basis. Visit the rule on the Web at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-16828.htm.
Page 2
PROBE OF BSE PREPAREDNESS
Agriculture Law reported last Monday that Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) has requested the General Accounting Office (GAO) investigate federal protections against the spread of bovine BSE. Sens. Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Harkin in his request. Harkin asked the GAO to examine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforcement and oversight of a U.S. ban on feeding byproducts of ruminant animals to other ruminants, a practice linked with the spread of BSE. “The importance of a strong, science-based U.S. government prevention and response system must not be taken lightly,” Harkin said in the report. “We need to ensure the food safety systems we have in place to protect against BSE are effective. A feed ban on paper is not the same as a feed ban in action. Recent news reports of the occurrence of BSE in Canada prove that we are not immune to this risk in the U.S.”
In 1997 FDA instituted a nationwide ban of these ruminant-to-ruminant feeds, which specifically prohibits the byproducts of ruminants in feed for other similar animals, as did Canada. A 2002 GAO report requested by Harkin stated that the FDA rule was not being followed properly and raised concerns that these deficiencies could leave U.S. cattle at risk of BSE infection. The GAO report raised questions about FDA’s enforcement of the feeding rule and private sector compliance, and recommended that FDA develop strategies to ensure compliance with the law, for enforcement of penalties for those who violate it, and for better oversight of state enforcement systems and other tracking improvements.
Harkin requested the GAO determine whether FDA implemented any or all of the recommendations in GAO’s 2002 report; the extent of private sector compliance with the feed rule; the status of efforts to develop a quick test to determine the presence of ruminant tissue in cattle feed; and what, if any, additional steps FDA has taken or believes may be necessary to protect the U.S. cattle herd in the wake of the Canadian situation.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE HEARING
On Thursday, June 26, 2003, the House Committee on
Agriculture held a hearing to review the mandatory country of origin labeling
(COOL) provision of the 2002 Farm Bill.
The USDA is in the process of writing a proposed rule to implement the Farm
Bill’s requirements. The hearing focused on the feasibility of the law itself,
if USDA is deliberately making compliance with the voluntary guidelines
currently in place difficult, the benefits and consequences of the law to
consumers, and whether the implementation of COOL is contrary to international
trade laws. NMA members contact Kiran Kernellu at [email protected] or 510-763-1533
for a copy of the Olsson, Frank and Weeda memo summarizing the hearing. NMA
Government Relations Liaison Shawna Thomas provided written testimony on COOL
to the House Agriculture Committee, as reported last week in Herd on the
Hill. NMA members may contact Kiran Kernellu at [email protected] or 510-763-1533
for a copy of the testimony.
Several representatives expressed concerns about the impact and implementation of COOL. Rep. Max Burns (R-GA) asked when USDA anticipates the proposed rule being available, and Dr. Charles Lambert, Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, answered that the plan is to release it in September, to be followed by a comment period and economic analysis. Rep. Burns also asked when the rule would be finalized, and Dr. Lambert said the final rule should be released sometime next Spring. Dr. Lambert also commented that USDA is working to develop a high-tech, animal identification system. However, he also remarked that COOL and BSE prevention “are two completely different systems,” and that “there is no linkage.” Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) also clarified that COOL is specifically a marketing program and not an animal health or food safety program.
An amendment in support of COOL could be introduced when the full House convenes next month. Food Chemical News reported last Monday that Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) are likely to support full funding for COOL.