Tommy
Well-known member
Dogburgers anyone?
Posted by Andrew Martin at 4:23 pm CST
A short notice from the United States Department of Agriculture has created a stir-and perhaps a wave of nausea-among the nation's meat inspectors.
Called "FSIS NOTICE 15-06: Use of Non-Amenable Animal Tissue in Inspected Products," the notice essentially says that animals that you wouldn't normally associate with hamburgers can be "included in amenable meat or poultry products produced in official establishments."
In other words, anything from deer to dog meat can be ground into hamburger, as long as it meets state regulations, which inspectors say tend to be looser than the federal government's.
"Suffice it to say, this is bizarre to inspectors in the field," said Trent Berhow, president of the Midwest Council of Food Inspectors locals, who lives in Iowa. "To read this, it looks to us that any product that is slaughtered under state inspection requirements can be co-mingled with federally inspected products.
"Could you bring roadkill in?" he asked. "I don't know how to read this. I don't think you would get (the USDA) to say we are talking about roadkill here."
Steven Cohen, a spokesman for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, said the notice was simply clarifying previous policies that had conflicted with each other. The bottom line, Cohen said, is that any kind of animal meat can be used with USDA inspected meat as long as its not adulterated.
For instance, he said, he said buffalo meat could be blended with ground beef, though he noted that the types of meat would have be listed as part of the ingredients on the label. Could dog meat be blended with ground beef?
"I don't believe that it is illegal, but there is no place that is producing dog meat," Cohen said, adding that the regulation fits a "very limited circumstance. "I don't think there's anyone who is doing this on a commercial basis."
But roadkill wouldn't qualify because, since the animal wasn't slaughtered, it would be considered adulterated, he said.
Non-amenable animal tissue, as defined in the notice, is any tissue from animals not subject to inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act. It includes edible tissue from exotic animals, rabbits, migratory birds and other animals not under the scope of USDA inspection, like alligator and kangaroo.
News of the notice swept through the community of meat inspectors after one of them sent an email to USDA's technical support center asking for clarification. In response to a question, Kris Kenne, a USDA staff officer, said someone could mix deer meat with pork and sell deer dogs with a USDA logo as long as the ingredients were labeled and state law allowed it.
Does this also mean that a slaughtered cat or dog can be added to sausage, Kenne was asked?
"Yes, that is a possibility should one wish to pursue to use them as an ingredient in the product. Public perception may not be so acceptable of the practice though," Kenne responded.
Kenne was not at his office on Friday and could not be reached for comment.
Posted by Andrew Martin at 4:23 pm CST
A short notice from the United States Department of Agriculture has created a stir-and perhaps a wave of nausea-among the nation's meat inspectors.
Called "FSIS NOTICE 15-06: Use of Non-Amenable Animal Tissue in Inspected Products," the notice essentially says that animals that you wouldn't normally associate with hamburgers can be "included in amenable meat or poultry products produced in official establishments."
In other words, anything from deer to dog meat can be ground into hamburger, as long as it meets state regulations, which inspectors say tend to be looser than the federal government's.
"Suffice it to say, this is bizarre to inspectors in the field," said Trent Berhow, president of the Midwest Council of Food Inspectors locals, who lives in Iowa. "To read this, it looks to us that any product that is slaughtered under state inspection requirements can be co-mingled with federally inspected products.
"Could you bring roadkill in?" he asked. "I don't know how to read this. I don't think you would get (the USDA) to say we are talking about roadkill here."
Steven Cohen, a spokesman for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, said the notice was simply clarifying previous policies that had conflicted with each other. The bottom line, Cohen said, is that any kind of animal meat can be used with USDA inspected meat as long as its not adulterated.
For instance, he said, he said buffalo meat could be blended with ground beef, though he noted that the types of meat would have be listed as part of the ingredients on the label. Could dog meat be blended with ground beef?
"I don't believe that it is illegal, but there is no place that is producing dog meat," Cohen said, adding that the regulation fits a "very limited circumstance. "I don't think there's anyone who is doing this on a commercial basis."
But roadkill wouldn't qualify because, since the animal wasn't slaughtered, it would be considered adulterated, he said.
Non-amenable animal tissue, as defined in the notice, is any tissue from animals not subject to inspection under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act. It includes edible tissue from exotic animals, rabbits, migratory birds and other animals not under the scope of USDA inspection, like alligator and kangaroo.
News of the notice swept through the community of meat inspectors after one of them sent an email to USDA's technical support center asking for clarification. In response to a question, Kris Kenne, a USDA staff officer, said someone could mix deer meat with pork and sell deer dogs with a USDA logo as long as the ingredients were labeled and state law allowed it.
Does this also mean that a slaughtered cat or dog can be added to sausage, Kenne was asked?
"Yes, that is a possibility should one wish to pursue to use them as an ingredient in the product. Public perception may not be so acceptable of the practice though," Kenne responded.
Kenne was not at his office on Friday and could not be reached for comment.
