Beef rules get tighter

WASHINGTON: Sick and injured cattle, which are at the highest risk of having mad cow disease, have been banned from the US food supply chain.

In a move to bolster confidence in US beef after last week's first confirmed case of mad cow, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced a range of measures yesterday.

The biggest change is the ban on "downer animals" which cannot walk because of illness or injury. They number about 195,000 of the 35.7 million US cattle slaughtered each year.

And human consumption of certain high-risk parts from older cattle, including the brain, eyes, spinal cord and small intestines, will be prohibited.

In other moves, inspectors will keep potentially ill animals out of the food supply until tests confirm they are safe, while plans for a comprehensive national system to track cattle will be rushed through.

More than 30 countries have banned the import of US beef after the mad cow case in a Holstein cow from Washington state.  article

Didn't think you were eating cow eyes and spinal cord?

What you don't know can't hurt you, right?

What's a "potentially ill" animal? That'd be all of them, wouldn't it?

There's more. You'll feel better.

"Inspectors will no longer mark cattle tested for BSE as 'inspected and passed' until ... the animals have, in fact, tested negative for BSE," the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.   article

Well, damn! That's reassuring. Holy cow! That stamp has in the past really meant, oh, squat, then, hasn't it?

The Washington dairy cow infected with the brain-wasting disease was unable to walk when she arrived for slaughter on Dec. 9, and deemed a "downer" animal by USDA.

Brain tissue was sent that day for mad cow testing, but the carcass was processed into raw beef before the initial test result was completed on Dec. 22. The delay in the test results was due in part to a backlog at the USDA's animal disease laboratory in Ames, Iowa, according to the government.

A faster test to detect mad cow disease in all injured or sick cattle that arrive at slaughter plants, delivering test results within 48 hours, is to be adopted by the government, the USDA said on Tuesday.

Anticipating an increase in mad cow testing, the agency said it will begin using more rapid diagnostic tests. It currently uses what it calls the "gold standard" of mad cow tests, which can take up to five days to complete.

I'm sorry. That sounds to me like there are faster tests available, but they have not been chosen because they weren't "gold standard". Does that mean that we will now get the results quicker (so we can pull that tainted beef off the market sooner? Or will it be held off the shelf for 48 hours?) - but the results may not be as realiable? None of this is sounding really great, is it?

I suppose we'll get a "your food supply is perfectly safe - eat beef in confidence" official statement soon. We had one before this, too, didn't we?

As recently as Monday, USDA officials said testing all estimated 150,000 downer cattle each year would do little to strengthen food safety. However, restaurant industry groups, food retailers and consumer advocates have demanded extra safeguards.

Now it's gonna be hard to come back later and say, we're testing all the animals, so you can be sure that your food is safe. Oh, what am I saying? It'll just be the old "what I meant to say" story again.

Veneman also said beef from advanced meat recovery equipment can no longer contain skulls from older cattle, the dorsal root ganglia and nerve cells connected to the spinal cord. The USDA already bans spinal cord in advanced meat recovery products.

The machines strip and scrape tiny bits of beef from cattle bones. Companies use the technology to reduce hand trimming by employees and to maximize production of meat for hamburger.

Okay, that's better. Now, besides not eating cow eyes and spinal cords, you won't be eating cow skulls either. No, no, no. Wait a minute. The first report said we won't be eating spinal cords. This one says dorsal root ganglia and nerve cells connected to the spinal cord. So I take it we'll still be eating spinal cord.

And for your final kicker...

In Seattle, the governor of Washington, Gary Locke, told reporters, "The USDA must purchase any cattle that they decide must be depopulated," adding that the compensation should cover the "full value" of any lost animals and should be paid before they are killed.

You will be buying those sick cattle whether you eat them or not.

Wouldn't want a cattleman to lose any money, would you?

I didn't think so.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.