There has been a lot of press lately involving the beef industry. I want to use this week’s blog to touch on three different articles concerning meat safety that have been published in recent weeks.
First, in the Meat Trade News, an article published on January 5th states that in the food safety world it is “now open season for anyone to attack meat trade” and states that there is no letup in the calls from politicians, consumer advocates, food safety lawyers and major media outlets for USDA and the food industry to step up their game when it comes to food safety.
A recent incident that has sparked public debate is the National Steak and Poultry's Christmas Eve voluntary recall of 248,000 pounds of mechanically tenderized beef products on E. coli O157:H7 concerns. With 21 people sickened and 9 hospitalized, food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker issued a news release calling for the National Steak and Poultry to pay medical bills and lost wages for the victims of illness associated with the recall.
With this fallout, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has also called for labels identifying mechanically tenderized beef and pork products, a move the American Meat Institute said is not necessary.
Read the full article by clicking here
The second article is from the Washington Post dated December 30, 2009 and goes into more detail on the beef recall and those sickened. The recall is considered a "class 1" or a "high health risk" by the USDA, which regulates the meat industry, since E. coli O157:H7 is one of the most lethal foodborne pathogens. Even for those who survive, there can be long-term health effects. The contamination appears to have begun with tainted beef used for chopped steak that was "co-mingled" with other products in the plant. Cases have been identified in six states -- Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington
The outbreak is considered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be relatively small, but it is significant because it is at least the fourth associated with mechanically tenderized beef since 2000.
To read more by clicking here
And finally in another blow to the beef industry, the AFP reported on December 29, 2009 that the United States expressed dismay over Taiwan's move to resume a ban on certain US beef imports amid concerns over mad cow disease. Taiwanese lawmakers agreed to amend a law on food health to ban imports of cow organs, minced beef and other high-risk items such as spines and eyes. "The proposed amendment’s provisions do not have a basis in science or fact and thus in no way serve to protect Taiwan’s food supply," said a joint statement by the United States Trade Representative office and the Department of Agriculture. "If passed, this amendment would represent a new barrier to US beef exports to Taiwan, and would constitute a unilateral abrogation of a bilateral agreement concluded in good faith by the United States with Taiwan just two months ago.”
To read the article in its entirety by clicking here
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