1000 Cases of Rules Violation

[bse-tester]

The USDA has stated that they have evidence of over 1000 cases of incidents where the rules concerning the removal of SRM's was not followed. They go on further to state that no SRM's entered the human food chain. This position of the USDA is that once the SRM material is removed, then apparently all risk of infection is removed also! What a complete crock that is!!

SRM's is based upon the old scientific approach that the prion nests in those tissues and those tissues only. Why is then that we can detect PrPsc (Infectious Scrapie-form Prion) in urine, blood and cellular level tissues? The urine is derived from the filtration of blood and the blood travels throughout the body. Ergo, the prions also travel throughout the body and are present in all tissue. The predominance of prion infection is due to replication of the protein and this occurs over long periods of time in places like the brain which then begins to malfunction due to the predominance of the vacuoles caused by the growth and accumulation of the infectious prion. The level of brain disfuntion and invasive occupation by prions then results in the typical clinical symptoms that we have come to call "Mad Cow Disease." In humans, this stage may not be reached for 30 plus years. However, in some humans, it has been reached extremely rapidly. Teenagers in England having succumbed to the nvCJD while still in their teens. This announcement by the USDA does nothing to calm my fears and this attachment they have to SRM's is more than just scary. It is downright frightening. Oh, and no, this is not fearmongering, just the plain simple truth! Sure, the removal of SRM material will reduce the risk but will it totally ensure that the animal and all of the product from it is free of PrPsc - simply put, the answer is certainly not!

 

[Mike]

Statistics: World Health Organization
"There are every year about 76 million foodborne illnesses in the (North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean) United States (26,000 cases for 100,000 inhabitants), 2 million in the (A monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland) United Kingdom (3,400 cases for 100,000 inhabitants) and 750,000 in (A republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe) France (1,210 cases for 100,000 inhabitants)."

A little tidbit to make people feel safer about the food here in the U.S.

 

[bse-tester]

I heard Mike that in London, on any given 7 day period, there are as many as 5,000 cases of post-operative infection in hospitals within Greater London. As for food infections, they are deemed to be countless as the instances are legion. Further to this, the case against food safety is mounting due, in part, the the 20th century phenomenon we lovingly refer to as "Fast Food." Fast being the operative word inthat the time to process the food is now done as the push of a button that has been linked to a software model that calculates the time it takes to cook that patty or to churn out those fries. The calculations never take into account that the time these foods lay waiting in line to be processed or the time they sit in the "ready pile." Not too many years ago, we used to take great pride in the actual preparation of our meals, whereas now, we tend to want the meal handed to us instantly after placing the order. Give me a red wine that is warming while I prepare the meal as the entire process is what counts. Oh well, so I live in the olde world and enjoy the real taste of food, not this crap that is spewed out each day to satiate our taste buds.

 

[Bill]

USDA finds 1,000 violations of mad cow rules By Randy Fabi
Tue Aug 16,10:43 AM ET



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal food safety inspectors found more than 1,000 instances since 2004 where U.S. meat plants cut corners or violated regulations aimed at preventing the spread of mad cow disease, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Monday.

The USDA said it released documents to the American Meat Institute and the consumer group Public Citizen showing that federal inspectors filed 1,036 noncompliance reports from January 2004 to May 2005 involving the removal of the brain, skull and spinal cord of cattle aged 30 months and older.

The materials are considered to carry the highest risk in spreading the brain-wasting disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy ( BSE). The USDA banned them from the human food supply a few days after the December 2003 discovery of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease in a Washington state dairy cow.

The nation's second confirmed case of BSE was discovered earlier this summer in a Texas beef cow.

Public Citizen said the documents showed instances where U.S. meat plants did not distinguish between older and younger animals, banned materials were not removed and tools not properly cleaned.

"I think there still has to be a concern about meat from an infected animal making it into the food supply," said Tony Corbo, legislative representative for Public Citizen. "It is not a fail-safe system."

The meat industry disagreed.

"Some groups will no doubt attempt to use this information as evidence of possible operational problems and even a food safety concern, when nothing is further from the truth," said Jim Hodges, president of the AMI Foundation.

AMI said the noncompliance reports represent just one-tenth of 1 percent of the 46 million cattle slaughtered nationwide during the 17-month period.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said its federal meat inspectors strictly enforced the regulations to keep BSE out of the human food supply.

"These data demonstrate inspection program personnel took immediate action when they determined that regulators were not being strictly followed. The analysis demonstrates public health was protected," the agency said in a statement posted on its Web site.

The documents were released to the industry and consumer groups in response to Freedom of Information Act requests, and were not made public by the USDA.

Public Citizen said it was still reviewing all the documents, and would need several days to summarize the noncompliance

reports.

The U.S. Food and Drug and Administration has separately been considering tougher safeguards against mad cow disease for the past 18 months. The FDA in 1997 banned the use of cattle remains as a protein supplement for cattle, but consumer groups have urged the FDA to extend the ban to feed for poultry, pigs and pet food.

 

[Anonymous]

Japan to ask U.S. for details about meat violations

Japan intends to ask the United States for detailed information on the large number of violations committed by U.S. meatpackers to circumvent rules designed to prevent the spread of mad cow disease, government officials said Tuesday.
The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry and the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry need to know the causes and other details of the violations, they said.

According to reports Monday by several media organizations in the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that meat plants committed 1,036 violations of rules for removing specified risk materials, such as spinal cords and brains, from cows before processing for human consumption.

The rules were put in place after the discovery in December 2003 of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease. They apply to cattle aged 30 months and above because infection is believed to rise with age.

Japan's Food Safety Commission, a panel of experts, is finalizing terms for removing the ban against U.S. beef imports.

The reported violations are expected to affect the panel's deliberations.

The Japan Times: Aug. 17, 2005

 

[Bill]

Guess there wasn't seperate lines for OTMs and UTMs in some places in the US after all.

 

[Sandhusker]

Japan to ask U.S. for details about meat violations

Japan intends to ask the United States for detailed information on the large number of violations committed by U.S. meatpackers to circumvent rules designed to prevent the spread of mad cow disease, government officials said Tuesday.
The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry and the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry need to know the causes and other details of the violations, they said.

According to reports Monday by several media organizations in the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that meat plants committed 1,036 violations of rules for removing specified risk materials, such as spinal cords and brains, from cows before processing for human consumption.

The rules were put in place after the discovery in December 2003 of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease. They apply to cattle aged 30 months and above because infection is believed to rise with age.

Japan's Food Safety Commission, a panel of experts, is finalizing terms for removing the ban against U.S. beef imports.

The reported violations are expected to affect the panel's deliberations.

The Japan Times: Aug. 17, 2005

It seems to me that a few months ago, someone posted a story about inspectors claiming violations were being swept under the carpet. It also seems to me that our packer defenders were quite vocal in poo-pooing the notion and instead attacked the whistle-blowers. Anybody remember?

 

[Mike]

Just a little exchange just today about SRM removal with SH.

Quote:
Mike: "You don't really think that "ALL" CNS material is removed from cattle do you?"

SH:
Your proof that it's not is.....................

NON EXISTANT?

:roll: :roll: :roll: :shock: :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol: 8) 8)

 

[Sandhusker]

I'd also like to point out that some said repeatedly that R-CALF's actions were causing harm to the US beef industry's reputation. Yet, all the negetive reactions around the globe are being caused by the USDA and now the packers - just the very folks R-CALF has a problem with!

 

[Mike]

Ah but Sandhusker, this is the venue where facts are not accepted as facts.

Sometimes a little common sense will go a long way. For instance, Newtons Law (Theory) of Gravity is/was not accepted by all scientists including Einstein.

But.........................go jump off a 10 story building and see what happens. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Sandman: "I'd also like to point out that some said repeatedly that R-CALF's actions were causing harm to the US beef industry's reputation."

Another spin job. What was stated repeatedly was that it's a good thing that the media does not view R-CULT as a credible source of information on BSE or the papers would be reading, "U.S. BEEF HIGH RISK DUE TO BSE IN NATIVE HERD". That's what R-CULT's case was based on. Fortunately the 9th circuit slam dunked it.

Fortunately for the U.S. cattle/beef industry USDA and NCBA are there to offset R-CULT's lies and BSE "fear mongering" which was motivated by R-CULT's determination to stop Canadian live cattle imports.

I'm glad you USDA conspiracy theorists have eachother to conspire with.

Support groups are important.



~SH~

 

[Bill]

I'd also like to point out that some said repeatedly that R-CALF's actions were causing harm to the US beef industry's reputation. Yet, all the negetive reactions around the globe are being caused by the USDA and now the packers - just the very folks R-CALF has a problem with!

Harm can be inflicted from more than one direction :!: