DOWNER COW BLUES SENATORS WANT CRACKDOWN
Senators want crackdown on violations of downer cow prohibitions
Last Update: 5:12 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) - Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California have introduced a bill to stiffen penalties against slaughterhouses that illegally process cows too sick to stand.
The legislation comes in response to the scandal over a Southern California slaughterhouse that improperly allowed so-called downer cattle into the food supply, leading to a recall of 143 million pounds of beef. Downer cows pose higher risk of mad cow disease and other infections.
The bill would let the Agriculture Department impose a fine for a first violation, a one-year suspension for a second violation and permanent shutdown for a third violation.
The legislation is also sponsored by Senators Ted Stevens of Alaska and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii.
http://www.fox6.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=ae9882e6-db32-485e-9c95-9adc899e9998
Panel grills meatpacking chief on beef recall at Chino plant
J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press
Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. President Steve Mendell, center, prepares to testify before a House subcommittee hearing on federal regulations for food and food safety.
Steve Mendell of closed Westland/ Hallmark company tells lawmakers, 'My system broke down.'
By Nicole Gaouette, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 13, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The president of the Chino meatpacking plant that triggered the largest beef recall in U.S. history admitted Wednesday that crippled cows, which are more likely to carry disease, probably entered the food supply at his company.
"Obviously my system broke down," said Steve Mendell, president of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., once a major supplier to the school lunch program.
Mendell initially told a House oversight subcommittee that "downer" cows at his plant "were not slaughtered, ground or sold."
But after lawmakers screened a graphic undercover video that showed ailing cows being jabbed with electric prods, beaten and rolled with forklifts toward slaughter, Mendell acknowledged that the four-minute clip did indeed show that at least two cows were processed into food.
Dressed soberly in black, Mendell, of Newport Beach, was flushed but composed, apologetic and insistent that the meat at his plant was safe for consumption. He told lawmakers that he had received death threats, that his family and employees had suffered, and that his company "is ruined" and would not reopen.
"My whole life is up in smoke," he said.
After watching a video of his plant taken by an undercover investigator from the Humane Society of the United States, Mendell briefly bowed his head and shut his eyes.
"Would you consume meat from a cow slaughtered that way?" asked Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.).
"No," Mendell said.
The hearing by a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee touched on multiple failures in the nation's food safety system, not only within Mendell's firm but also by independent auditors, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's on-site investigators responsible for monitoring Westland/Hallmark.
"There is a serious problem with our food safety system," said Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
Stupak noted that since his subcommittee began investigating the FDA's ability to protect the nation's food supply 14 months ago there have been at least 163 recalls and health alerts tied to FDA-regulated products. Since 2007, Stupak added, there have been 67 meat recalls totaling about 180 million pounds.
Practices at the Westland/Hallmark plant led the USDA to announce the recall of 143 million pounds of meat, 50 million of which had been sent to school lunch programs. About 20 million pounds of the school-bound meat has already been consumed.
Mendell, who ignored an initial summons to appear before the committee in February, was issued a subpoena to appear Wednesday. He arrived with one of Washington's most high-profile lawyers, Asa Hutchinson, a former congressman and former member of the Bush administration whom Mendell hired Friday.
Democrats and Republicans, who have spent most of this Congress bickering with each other, ganged up on the Westland/Hallmark president.
"There's an easy way and a hard way to answer questions from this committee," Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) warned Mendell. "Either way, we'll find out what we want to know."
Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas) added his own word of caution: "There's no daylight between Republicans and Democrats on this issue."
Action against Westland/Hallmark began when the Humane Society released video filmed by an investigator Jan. 30. Five on-site USDA inspectors had failed to notice anything wrong.
The plant, which slaughtered about 500 cattle a day, shut operations Feb. 4. After the Humane Society provided video evidence that downer cows were being slaughtered, Westland/Hallmark voluntarily recalled the beef Feb. 17.
Downer cows have been banned from entering the food supply since 2004, but the USDA has made an exception for cows that were inspected after they fell and seemed only to have external injuries. The Westland/Hallmark cows were not being inspected.
Page 2 of 2
Ailing cows are at greater risk of carrying E. coli, salmonella bacteria and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a fatal neurological disorder known as mad cow disease.
Rep. Edward Whitfield (R-Ky.) grimaced as he watched the video, which at one point showed a downer cow being "waterboarded" by a worker who directed a hose of water into the animal's nostrils. Whitfield suggested to Mendell that the USDA should ban the slaughter of any downer cows. But Mendell contended that those situations should be judged on a case-by-case basis and pointed out that companies lost money on any cow that was euthanized.
Mendell told lawmakers that he wished he had installed cameras in the plant after a 2005 citation for inhumane treatment of animals. Instead, he said, he improved training, instituting monthly sessions of about an hour to an hour and a half.
Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas), who noticed Spanish-speaking workers in the video, asked whether Mendell might have had a language problem, but Mendell responded that the supervisors were bilingual.
Mendell produced records that showed that the Humane Society investigator was trained. But in an interview, Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said the investigator never received training. Pacelle said the Humane Society would not reveal the identity of the investigator because he would continue to do similar work, but described him as a committed vegan.
Mendell pointed to 17 external audits and a dozen internal ones last year that showed his plant's practices were exemplary, but lawmakers were unimpressed.
"So many audits, what went wrong?" countered Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.). "There's something wrong in all these reviews, there's something wrong . . . in the corporate culture. We have to figure out why you had so many reviews, and then the Humane Society does its undercover, and voila."
Even if downer cows had been slaughtered, Mendell stressed, the processed meat would still be all right as later inspections screened out any "specified risk materials" that might lead to mad cow disease.
"There's less than a minute chance of that material being contaminated," he said.
Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) told Mendell that there were children in his district who had consumed Westland/Hallmark meat. He noted that it could take more than a decade before mad cow disease is detected in humans.
"In 13 years, you're not going to be around," Green said. "That's my concern and the concern of this Congress."
[email protected]
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-hallmark13mar13,1,5872989.story
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-hallmark13mar13,0,4930134.story?page=2&track=ntothtml
tip of the iceberg.
what went wrong ???
they call it, kaaching $$$
Web posted Wednesday, February 18, 1998 2:02 p.m. CT
Graphic pictures greet Winfrey jury
By KAY LEDBETTER
Globe-News Farm and Ranch Editor
Pictures of sheep heads, euthanized pets and roadkill greeted jurors
this morning as they returned to the continuation of the cattlemen vs.
Oprah Winfrey lawsuit.
The lawsuit continues today in U.S. District Mary Lou Robinson's court,
but in a much diminished state.
snip...
Defense lawyer Charles Babcock called Van Smith, a City Paper reporter
from Baltimore who had written an article on rendering plants in
September 1995.
Smith and Babcock went through more than 50 pictures taken as the
reporter toured the Valley Proteins plant in Baltimore and followed a
rendering truck to the local animal shelter, a sausage plant and a
slaughterhouse.
The pictures showed offal being emptied from the slaughterhouses. They
showed animal shelter workers in the euthanasia room; barrels of dead
animals in a refrigerated room at the animal shelter; waste meat from
the sausage plant; and dead sheep from the slaughterhouse.
Web posted Friday, January 23, 1998 5:49 a.m. CT
TSS
Witness testifies some ill cattle sent to rendering plant
By CHIP CHANDLER
Globe-News Staff Writer
snip...
Mike Engler -- son of Paul Engler, the original plaintiff and owner of
Cactus Feeders Inc. -- agreed that more than 10 cows with some sort of
central nervous system disorder were sent to Hereford By-Products.
The younger Engler, who has a doctorate in biochemistry from Johns
Hopkins University, was the only witness jurors heard Thursday in the
Oprah Winfrey defamation trial. His testimony will resume this morning.
According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report from which Winfrey
attorney Charles Babcock quoted, encephalitis caused by unknown reasons
could be a warning sign for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow
disease.
Encephalitis was indicated on the death certificates -- or ``dead
slips'' -- of three Cactus Feeders cows discussed in court. The slips
then were stamped, ``Picked up by your local used cattle dealer'' before
the carcasses were taken to the rendering plant.
snip...
http://www.amarillonet.com/
USDA CERTIFIED NON-AMBULATORY DOWNER COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/beef-recall-nationwide-school-lunch.html
Specified Risk Material SRM
On January 18, 2002, FDA's New Orleans District Office issued a Warning
Letter to J. Randall Mayes, Pulaski, Tennessee, a dairy farmer. An FDA
inspection conducted November 26 28, 2001, confirmed that the farmer sold a
cow for use as human food containing gentamicin residues. USDA analysis of
tissue samples from the cow sold by Mayes identified the presence of 7.12
ppm of gentamicin in the kidney tissue. There is no established tolerance
for gentamicin in cattle. In addition, FDA's investigation found that the
dairy farmer held animals under conditions which were so inadequate that
diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug
residues were likely to enter the food supply.
http://www.fda.gov/ora/about/enf_story/archive/2002/ch5/cvm1.htm
The Warning Letter also noted that the owner holds animals under conditions
which are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals
bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food
supply.
http://www.fda.gov/ora/about/enf_story/archive/2001/ch5/default.htm
Mr. Sturm was found to hold animals on his farm under conditions that are so
inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing
potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. In
addition, he failed to use the drug, Albon, containing sulfadimethoxine, in
conformance with the labeling.
A warning letter was issued to the following firms for violations related to
21 CFR Part 589.2000-Animal Proteins Prohibited in Ruminant Feed. This
regulation is intended to prevent the establishment and amplification of
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
. Scott Nelson, Owner, Integra Fish Foods, Inc., Grand Junction, CO
. Bruce A. Burgett, General Manager, The Carrollton Farmers Exchange,
Carrollton, OH
Violations included failure to label feeds that contain, or may contain,
prohibited materials with the required cautionary statement "Do Not Feed to
Cattle or Other Ruminants," insufficient customer records to track the
distribution of products, and lack of written procedures for cleaning or
flushing equipment after mixing feeds containing prohibited material.
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Sep_Oct01.htm
Mr. Van Dam was found to hold animals under improper conditions whereby
diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug
residues are likely to enter the food supply.
Ms. Silveira was found to be adulterating the drug Mutual Pharmaceutical
brand of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim tablets, since she did not follow
her veterinarian's prescribed withdrawal time of thirty days prior to
slaughter.
Mr. Edwards did not properly identify treated animals to assure they are not
sold for slaughter, did not maintain treatment records, and he did not
follow labeling directions for medicated feed.
O & L Dairy was found to lack an adequate system for determining the
medication status of animals offered for slaughter, and for assuring that
animals which had been medicated had been withheld from slaughter for the
appropriate periods of time to deplete potentially hazardous residues of
drugs.
Mr. Sturm was found to hold animals on his farm under conditions that are so
inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing
potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. In
addition, he failed to use the drug, Albon, containing sulfadimethoxine, in
conformance with the labeling.
A warning letter was issued to the following firms for violations related to
21 CFR Part 589.2000-Animal Proteins Prohibited in Ruminant Feed. This
regulation is intended to prevent the establishment and amplification of
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
. Scott Nelson, Owner, Integra Fish Foods, Inc., Grand Junction, CO
. Bruce A. Burgett, General Manager, The Carrollton Farmers Exchange,
Carrollton, OH
Violations included failure to label feeds that contain, or may contain,
prohibited materials with the required cautionary statement "Do Not Feed to
Cattle or Other Ruminants," insufficient customer records to track the
distribution of products, and lack of written procedures for cleaning or
flushing equipment after mixing feeds containing prohibited material.
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Sep_Oct.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals on your farm under
conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated
animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the
food supply. For example, you failed to maintain treatment records for bull
calves fed medicated milk replacer, lack a system for assuring that the milk
replacer is used in a manner not contrary to label instructions, and lack a
system for assuring the medicated animals have been withheld from slaughter
for appropriate periods of time to permit depletion of potentially hazardous
drug residues from edible tissues. Foods from animals held under such
conditions are adulterated under Section 402(a)(4) of the Act [21 U.S.C.
Section 342(a)(4)].
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl2.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals on your farm under
conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and lormedicated
animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the
food supply. For example, you lack a system for assuring that drugs are used
in a manner not contrary to label instructions, and for assuring animals
medicated on your farrn have been withheld from slaughter for appropriate
periods of time to permit depletion of potentially hazardous drug residues
from edible tissues. Foods from animals held under such conditions are
adulterated under Section 402(a)(4) of the Act.
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl6.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals which are ultimately
offered for
slaughter as food, under conditions which are so inadequate that diseased
animals and/or
medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to
enter the food
supply.
John Weststeyn 2
T & J Dairy
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl130.pdf
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement
May 4, 2004
Media Inquiries: 301-827-6242
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
Statement on Texas Cow With Central Nervous System Symptoms
On Friday, April 30 th , the Food and Drug Administration learned that a cow
with central nervous system symptoms had been killed and shipped to a
processor for rendering into animal protein for use in animal feed.
FDA, which is responsible for the safety of animal feed, immediately began
an investigation. On Friday and throughout the weekend, FDA investigators
inspected the slaughterhouse, the rendering facility, the farm where the
animal came from, and the processor that initially received the cow from the
slaughterhouse.
FDA's investigation showed that the animal in question had already been
rendered into "meat and bone meal" (a type of protein animal feed). Over the
weekend FDA was able to track down all the implicated material. That
material is being held by the firm, which is cooperating fully with FDA.
Cattle with central nervous system symptoms are of particular interest
because cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE, also known as
"mad cow disease," can exhibit such symptoms. In this case, there is no way
now to test for BSE. But even if the cow had BSE, FDA's animal feed rule
would prohibit the feeding of its rendered protein to other ruminant animals
(e.g., cows, goats, sheep, bison).
FDA is sending a letter to the firm summarizing its findings and informing
the firm that FDA will not object to use of this material in swine feed
only. If it is not used in swine feed, this material will be destroyed. Pigs
have been shown not to be susceptible to BSE. If the firm agrees to use the
material for swine feed only, FDA will track the material all the way
through the supply chain from the processor to the farm to ensure that the
feed is properly monitored and used only as feed for pigs.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01061.html
10,000,000+ LBS. of PROHIBITED BANNED MAD COW FEED I.E. MBM IN COMMERCE USA
2007
Date: March 21, 2007 at 2:27 pm PST
RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINES -- CLASS II
___________________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk cattle feed made with recalled Darling's 85% Blood Meal, Flash Dried,
Recall # V-024-2007
CODE
Cattle feed delivered between 01/12/2007 and 01/26/2007
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Pfeiffer, Arno, Inc, Greenbush, WI. by conversation on February 5, 2007.
Firm initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Blood meal used to make cattle feed was recalled because it was
cross-contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal that had been
manufactured on common equipment and labeling did not bear cautionary BSE
statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
42,090 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
WI
___________________________________
PRODUCT
Custom dairy premix products: MNM ALL PURPOSE Pellet, HILLSIDE/CDL
Prot-Buffer Meal, LEE, M.-CLOSE UP PX Pellet, HIGH DESERT/ GHC LACT Meal,
TATARKA, M CUST PROT Meal, SUNRIDGE/CDL PROTEIN Blend, LOURENZO, K PVM DAIRY
Meal, DOUBLE B DAIRY/GHC LAC Mineral, WEST PIONT/GHC CLOSEUP Mineral, WEST
POINT/GHC LACT Meal, JENKS, J/COMPASS PROTEIN Meal, COPPINI - 8# SPECIAL
DAIRY Mix, GULICK, L-LACT Meal (Bulk), TRIPLE J - PROTEIN/LACTATION, ROCK
CREEK/GHC MILK Mineral, BETTENCOURT/GHC S.SIDE MK-MN, BETTENCOURT #1/GHC
MILK MINR, V&C DAIRY/GHC LACT Meal, VEENSTRA, F/GHC LACT Meal, SMUTNY,
A-BYPASS ML W/SMARTA, Recall # V-025-2007
CODE
The firm does not utilize a code - only shipping documentation with
commodity and weights identified.
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Rangen, Inc, Buhl, ID, by letters on February 13 and 14, 2007. Firm
initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Products manufactured from bulk feed containing blood meal that was cross
contaminated with prohibited meat and bone meal and the labeling did not
bear cautionary BSE statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
9,997,976 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
ID and NV
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR MARCH 21, 2007
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2007/ENF00996.html
Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALL USA SEPT 6, 2006 1961.72 TONS IN COMMERCE AL,
TN, AND WV
Date: September 6, 2006 at 7:58 am PST
PRODUCT
a) EVSRC Custom dairy feed, Recall # V-130-6;
snip...
PLEASE SEE FULL TEXT AND LONG LAUNDRY LIST OF MAD COW PROTEIN AND SRM ''IN
COMMERCE'' ;
snip...
(PLEASE NOTE, .005 grams of TSE tainted mad cow feed is lethal enough to
kill a cow. ...tss)
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html
USDA CERTIFIED H-BASE MAD COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/usda-certified-h-base-mad-cow-school.html
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Release No. 0046.08 Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer
Regarding Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company Two Year Product Recall
Release No. 0046.08
Contact:
USDA Press Office (202) 720-4623
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/release-no-004608-statement-by.html
Thursday, February 21, 2008
TRANSCRIPT: Technical Briefing - Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company -
(02/21/08)
Release No. 0054.08
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/transcript-technical-briefing.html
Geographical BSE Risk (GBR) assessments covering 2000-2006
Date : 01.08.2006
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/Scientific_Document/GBR_assessments_table_Overview_assessed_countries_2002-2006.pdf
In this context, a word is in order about the US testing program. After the
discovery of the first (imported) cow in 2003, the magnitude of testing was
much increased, reaching a level of >400,000 tests in 2005 (Figure 4).
Neither of the 2 more recently indigenously infected older animals with
nonspecific clinical features would have been detected without such testing,
and neither would have been identified as atypical without confirmatory
Western blots. Despite these facts, surveillance has now been decimated to
40,000 annual tests (USDA news release no. 0255.06, July 20, 2006) and
invites the accusation that the United States will never know the true
status of its involvement with BSE.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no12/06-0965.htm
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 6:17 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Docket No. 03-025IFA] FSIS Prohibition of the Use of Specified
Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of
Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle
Greetings FSIS,
I would kindly like to submit the following to [Docket No. 03-025IFA] FSIS
Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and
Requirements for the Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle
THE BSE/TSE SUB CLINICAL
Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle Broken bones and such may be the first signs
of a sub clinical BSE/TSE Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle ;
SUB CLINICAL PRION INFECTION MRC-43-00 Issued: Monday, 28 August 2000
NEW EVIDENCE OF SUB-CLINICAL PRION INFECTION: IMPORTANT RESEARCH FINDINGS
RELEVANT TO CJD AND BSE
A team of researchers led by Professor John Collinge at the Medical Research
Council Prion Unit1 report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, on new evidence for the existence of a sub-clinical form of
BSE in mice which was unknown until now. The scientists took a closer look
at what is known as the species barrier - the main protective factor which
limits the ability of prions2 to jump from one species to infect another.
They found the mice had a sub-clinical form of disease where they carried
high levels of infectivity but did not develop the clinical disease during
their normal lifespan. The idea that individuals can carry a disease and
show no clinical symptoms is not new. It is commonly seen in conventional
infectious diseases. Researchers tried to infect laboratory mice with
hamster prions3 called Sc237 and found that the mice showed no apparent
signs of disease. However, on closer inspection they found that the mice had
high levels of mouse prions in their brains. This was surprising because it
has always been assumed that hamster prions could not cause the disease in
mice, even when injected directly into the brain. In addition the
researchers showed that this new sub-clinical infection could be easily
passed on when injected into healthy mice and hamsters. The height of the
species barrier varies widely between different combinations of animals and
also varies with the type or strain of prions. While some barriers are quite
small (for instance BSE easily infects mice), other combinations of strain
and species show a seemingly impenetrable barrier. Traditionally, the
particular barrier studied here was assumed to be robust. Professor John
Collinge said: "These results have a number of important implications. They
suggest that we should re-think how we measure species barriers in the
laboratory, and that we should not assume that just because one species
appears resistant to a strain of prions they have been exposed to, that they
do not silently carry the infection.
This research raises the possibility, which has been mentioned before, that
apparently healthy cattle could harbour, but never show signs of, BSE. "This
is a timely and unexpected result, increasing what we know about prion
disease. These new findings have important implications for those
researching prion disease, those responsible for preventing infected
material getting into the food chain and for those considering how best to
safeguard health and reduce the risk that theoretically, prion disease could
be contracted through medical and surgical procedures."
ISSUED FRIDAY 25 AUGUST UNDER EMBARGO. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EMBARGO IS SET
BY THE JOURNAL.
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/index/public_interest/public-press_office/public-press_releases_2000/public-mrc-43-00.htm
full text ;
9/13/2005
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/03-025IFA/03-025IFA-2.pdf
[Docket No. FSIS-2006-0011] FSIS Harvard Risk Assessment of Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/2006-0011/2006-0011-1.pdf
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM FROM DOWNER CATTLE UPDATE
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
TSS
Senators want crackdown on violations of downer cow prohibitions
Last Update: 5:12 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) - Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California have introduced a bill to stiffen penalties against slaughterhouses that illegally process cows too sick to stand.
The legislation comes in response to the scandal over a Southern California slaughterhouse that improperly allowed so-called downer cattle into the food supply, leading to a recall of 143 million pounds of beef. Downer cows pose higher risk of mad cow disease and other infections.
The bill would let the Agriculture Department impose a fine for a first violation, a one-year suspension for a second violation and permanent shutdown for a third violation.
The legislation is also sponsored by Senators Ted Stevens of Alaska and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii.
http://www.fox6.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=ae9882e6-db32-485e-9c95-9adc899e9998
Panel grills meatpacking chief on beef recall at Chino plant
J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press
Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. President Steve Mendell, center, prepares to testify before a House subcommittee hearing on federal regulations for food and food safety.
Steve Mendell of closed Westland/ Hallmark company tells lawmakers, 'My system broke down.'
By Nicole Gaouette, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 13, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The president of the Chino meatpacking plant that triggered the largest beef recall in U.S. history admitted Wednesday that crippled cows, which are more likely to carry disease, probably entered the food supply at his company.
"Obviously my system broke down," said Steve Mendell, president of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., once a major supplier to the school lunch program.
Mendell initially told a House oversight subcommittee that "downer" cows at his plant "were not slaughtered, ground or sold."
But after lawmakers screened a graphic undercover video that showed ailing cows being jabbed with electric prods, beaten and rolled with forklifts toward slaughter, Mendell acknowledged that the four-minute clip did indeed show that at least two cows were processed into food.
Dressed soberly in black, Mendell, of Newport Beach, was flushed but composed, apologetic and insistent that the meat at his plant was safe for consumption. He told lawmakers that he had received death threats, that his family and employees had suffered, and that his company "is ruined" and would not reopen.
"My whole life is up in smoke," he said.
After watching a video of his plant taken by an undercover investigator from the Humane Society of the United States, Mendell briefly bowed his head and shut his eyes.
"Would you consume meat from a cow slaughtered that way?" asked Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.).
"No," Mendell said.
The hearing by a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee touched on multiple failures in the nation's food safety system, not only within Mendell's firm but also by independent auditors, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's on-site investigators responsible for monitoring Westland/Hallmark.
"There is a serious problem with our food safety system," said Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
Stupak noted that since his subcommittee began investigating the FDA's ability to protect the nation's food supply 14 months ago there have been at least 163 recalls and health alerts tied to FDA-regulated products. Since 2007, Stupak added, there have been 67 meat recalls totaling about 180 million pounds.
Practices at the Westland/Hallmark plant led the USDA to announce the recall of 143 million pounds of meat, 50 million of which had been sent to school lunch programs. About 20 million pounds of the school-bound meat has already been consumed.
Mendell, who ignored an initial summons to appear before the committee in February, was issued a subpoena to appear Wednesday. He arrived with one of Washington's most high-profile lawyers, Asa Hutchinson, a former congressman and former member of the Bush administration whom Mendell hired Friday.
Democrats and Republicans, who have spent most of this Congress bickering with each other, ganged up on the Westland/Hallmark president.
"There's an easy way and a hard way to answer questions from this committee," Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) warned Mendell. "Either way, we'll find out what we want to know."
Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas) added his own word of caution: "There's no daylight between Republicans and Democrats on this issue."
Action against Westland/Hallmark began when the Humane Society released video filmed by an investigator Jan. 30. Five on-site USDA inspectors had failed to notice anything wrong.
The plant, which slaughtered about 500 cattle a day, shut operations Feb. 4. After the Humane Society provided video evidence that downer cows were being slaughtered, Westland/Hallmark voluntarily recalled the beef Feb. 17.
Downer cows have been banned from entering the food supply since 2004, but the USDA has made an exception for cows that were inspected after they fell and seemed only to have external injuries. The Westland/Hallmark cows were not being inspected.
Page 2 of 2
Ailing cows are at greater risk of carrying E. coli, salmonella bacteria and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a fatal neurological disorder known as mad cow disease.
Rep. Edward Whitfield (R-Ky.) grimaced as he watched the video, which at one point showed a downer cow being "waterboarded" by a worker who directed a hose of water into the animal's nostrils. Whitfield suggested to Mendell that the USDA should ban the slaughter of any downer cows. But Mendell contended that those situations should be judged on a case-by-case basis and pointed out that companies lost money on any cow that was euthanized.
Mendell told lawmakers that he wished he had installed cameras in the plant after a 2005 citation for inhumane treatment of animals. Instead, he said, he improved training, instituting monthly sessions of about an hour to an hour and a half.
Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas), who noticed Spanish-speaking workers in the video, asked whether Mendell might have had a language problem, but Mendell responded that the supervisors were bilingual.
Mendell produced records that showed that the Humane Society investigator was trained. But in an interview, Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said the investigator never received training. Pacelle said the Humane Society would not reveal the identity of the investigator because he would continue to do similar work, but described him as a committed vegan.
Mendell pointed to 17 external audits and a dozen internal ones last year that showed his plant's practices were exemplary, but lawmakers were unimpressed.
"So many audits, what went wrong?" countered Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.). "There's something wrong in all these reviews, there's something wrong . . . in the corporate culture. We have to figure out why you had so many reviews, and then the Humane Society does its undercover, and voila."
Even if downer cows had been slaughtered, Mendell stressed, the processed meat would still be all right as later inspections screened out any "specified risk materials" that might lead to mad cow disease.
"There's less than a minute chance of that material being contaminated," he said.
Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) told Mendell that there were children in his district who had consumed Westland/Hallmark meat. He noted that it could take more than a decade before mad cow disease is detected in humans.
"In 13 years, you're not going to be around," Green said. "That's my concern and the concern of this Congress."
[email protected]
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-hallmark13mar13,1,5872989.story
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-hallmark13mar13,0,4930134.story?page=2&track=ntothtml
tip of the iceberg.
what went wrong ???
they call it, kaaching $$$
Web posted Wednesday, February 18, 1998 2:02 p.m. CT
Graphic pictures greet Winfrey jury
By KAY LEDBETTER
Globe-News Farm and Ranch Editor
Pictures of sheep heads, euthanized pets and roadkill greeted jurors
this morning as they returned to the continuation of the cattlemen vs.
Oprah Winfrey lawsuit.
The lawsuit continues today in U.S. District Mary Lou Robinson's court,
but in a much diminished state.
snip...
Defense lawyer Charles Babcock called Van Smith, a City Paper reporter
from Baltimore who had written an article on rendering plants in
September 1995.
Smith and Babcock went through more than 50 pictures taken as the
reporter toured the Valley Proteins plant in Baltimore and followed a
rendering truck to the local animal shelter, a sausage plant and a
slaughterhouse.
The pictures showed offal being emptied from the slaughterhouses. They
showed animal shelter workers in the euthanasia room; barrels of dead
animals in a refrigerated room at the animal shelter; waste meat from
the sausage plant; and dead sheep from the slaughterhouse.
Web posted Friday, January 23, 1998 5:49 a.m. CT
TSS
Witness testifies some ill cattle sent to rendering plant
By CHIP CHANDLER
Globe-News Staff Writer
snip...
Mike Engler -- son of Paul Engler, the original plaintiff and owner of
Cactus Feeders Inc. -- agreed that more than 10 cows with some sort of
central nervous system disorder were sent to Hereford By-Products.
The younger Engler, who has a doctorate in biochemistry from Johns
Hopkins University, was the only witness jurors heard Thursday in the
Oprah Winfrey defamation trial. His testimony will resume this morning.
According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report from which Winfrey
attorney Charles Babcock quoted, encephalitis caused by unknown reasons
could be a warning sign for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow
disease.
Encephalitis was indicated on the death certificates -- or ``dead
slips'' -- of three Cactus Feeders cows discussed in court. The slips
then were stamped, ``Picked up by your local used cattle dealer'' before
the carcasses were taken to the rendering plant.
snip...
http://www.amarillonet.com/
USDA CERTIFIED NON-AMBULATORY DOWNER COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/beef-recall-nationwide-school-lunch.html
Specified Risk Material SRM
On January 18, 2002, FDA's New Orleans District Office issued a Warning
Letter to J. Randall Mayes, Pulaski, Tennessee, a dairy farmer. An FDA
inspection conducted November 26 28, 2001, confirmed that the farmer sold a
cow for use as human food containing gentamicin residues. USDA analysis of
tissue samples from the cow sold by Mayes identified the presence of 7.12
ppm of gentamicin in the kidney tissue. There is no established tolerance
for gentamicin in cattle. In addition, FDA's investigation found that the
dairy farmer held animals under conditions which were so inadequate that
diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug
residues were likely to enter the food supply.
http://www.fda.gov/ora/about/enf_story/archive/2002/ch5/cvm1.htm
The Warning Letter also noted that the owner holds animals under conditions
which are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals
bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food
supply.
http://www.fda.gov/ora/about/enf_story/archive/2001/ch5/default.htm
Mr. Sturm was found to hold animals on his farm under conditions that are so
inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing
potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. In
addition, he failed to use the drug, Albon, containing sulfadimethoxine, in
conformance with the labeling.
A warning letter was issued to the following firms for violations related to
21 CFR Part 589.2000-Animal Proteins Prohibited in Ruminant Feed. This
regulation is intended to prevent the establishment and amplification of
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
. Scott Nelson, Owner, Integra Fish Foods, Inc., Grand Junction, CO
. Bruce A. Burgett, General Manager, The Carrollton Farmers Exchange,
Carrollton, OH
Violations included failure to label feeds that contain, or may contain,
prohibited materials with the required cautionary statement "Do Not Feed to
Cattle or Other Ruminants," insufficient customer records to track the
distribution of products, and lack of written procedures for cleaning or
flushing equipment after mixing feeds containing prohibited material.
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Sep_Oct01.htm
Mr. Van Dam was found to hold animals under improper conditions whereby
diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug
residues are likely to enter the food supply.
Ms. Silveira was found to be adulterating the drug Mutual Pharmaceutical
brand of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim tablets, since she did not follow
her veterinarian's prescribed withdrawal time of thirty days prior to
slaughter.
Mr. Edwards did not properly identify treated animals to assure they are not
sold for slaughter, did not maintain treatment records, and he did not
follow labeling directions for medicated feed.
O & L Dairy was found to lack an adequate system for determining the
medication status of animals offered for slaughter, and for assuring that
animals which had been medicated had been withheld from slaughter for the
appropriate periods of time to deplete potentially hazardous residues of
drugs.
Mr. Sturm was found to hold animals on his farm under conditions that are so
inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing
potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. In
addition, he failed to use the drug, Albon, containing sulfadimethoxine, in
conformance with the labeling.
A warning letter was issued to the following firms for violations related to
21 CFR Part 589.2000-Animal Proteins Prohibited in Ruminant Feed. This
regulation is intended to prevent the establishment and amplification of
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
. Scott Nelson, Owner, Integra Fish Foods, Inc., Grand Junction, CO
. Bruce A. Burgett, General Manager, The Carrollton Farmers Exchange,
Carrollton, OH
Violations included failure to label feeds that contain, or may contain,
prohibited materials with the required cautionary statement "Do Not Feed to
Cattle or Other Ruminants," insufficient customer records to track the
distribution of products, and lack of written procedures for cleaning or
flushing equipment after mixing feeds containing prohibited material.
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Sep_Oct.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals on your farm under
conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated
animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the
food supply. For example, you failed to maintain treatment records for bull
calves fed medicated milk replacer, lack a system for assuring that the milk
replacer is used in a manner not contrary to label instructions, and lack a
system for assuring the medicated animals have been withheld from slaughter
for appropriate periods of time to permit depletion of potentially hazardous
drug residues from edible tissues. Foods from animals held under such
conditions are adulterated under Section 402(a)(4) of the Act [21 U.S.C.
Section 342(a)(4)].
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl2.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals on your farm under
conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and lormedicated
animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the
food supply. For example, you lack a system for assuring that drugs are used
in a manner not contrary to label instructions, and for assuring animals
medicated on your farrn have been withheld from slaughter for appropriate
periods of time to permit depletion of potentially hazardous drug residues
from edible tissues. Foods from animals held under such conditions are
adulterated under Section 402(a)(4) of the Act.
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl6.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals which are ultimately
offered for
slaughter as food, under conditions which are so inadequate that diseased
animals and/or
medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to
enter the food
supply.
John Weststeyn 2
T & J Dairy
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl130.pdf
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement
May 4, 2004
Media Inquiries: 301-827-6242
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
Statement on Texas Cow With Central Nervous System Symptoms
On Friday, April 30 th , the Food and Drug Administration learned that a cow
with central nervous system symptoms had been killed and shipped to a
processor for rendering into animal protein for use in animal feed.
FDA, which is responsible for the safety of animal feed, immediately began
an investigation. On Friday and throughout the weekend, FDA investigators
inspected the slaughterhouse, the rendering facility, the farm where the
animal came from, and the processor that initially received the cow from the
slaughterhouse.
FDA's investigation showed that the animal in question had already been
rendered into "meat and bone meal" (a type of protein animal feed). Over the
weekend FDA was able to track down all the implicated material. That
material is being held by the firm, which is cooperating fully with FDA.
Cattle with central nervous system symptoms are of particular interest
because cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE, also known as
"mad cow disease," can exhibit such symptoms. In this case, there is no way
now to test for BSE. But even if the cow had BSE, FDA's animal feed rule
would prohibit the feeding of its rendered protein to other ruminant animals
(e.g., cows, goats, sheep, bison).
FDA is sending a letter to the firm summarizing its findings and informing
the firm that FDA will not object to use of this material in swine feed
only. If it is not used in swine feed, this material will be destroyed. Pigs
have been shown not to be susceptible to BSE. If the firm agrees to use the
material for swine feed only, FDA will track the material all the way
through the supply chain from the processor to the farm to ensure that the
feed is properly monitored and used only as feed for pigs.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01061.html
10,000,000+ LBS. of PROHIBITED BANNED MAD COW FEED I.E. MBM IN COMMERCE USA
2007
Date: March 21, 2007 at 2:27 pm PST
RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINES -- CLASS II
___________________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk cattle feed made with recalled Darling's 85% Blood Meal, Flash Dried,
Recall # V-024-2007
CODE
Cattle feed delivered between 01/12/2007 and 01/26/2007
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Pfeiffer, Arno, Inc, Greenbush, WI. by conversation on February 5, 2007.
Firm initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Blood meal used to make cattle feed was recalled because it was
cross-contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal that had been
manufactured on common equipment and labeling did not bear cautionary BSE
statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
42,090 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
WI
___________________________________
PRODUCT
Custom dairy premix products: MNM ALL PURPOSE Pellet, HILLSIDE/CDL
Prot-Buffer Meal, LEE, M.-CLOSE UP PX Pellet, HIGH DESERT/ GHC LACT Meal,
TATARKA, M CUST PROT Meal, SUNRIDGE/CDL PROTEIN Blend, LOURENZO, K PVM DAIRY
Meal, DOUBLE B DAIRY/GHC LAC Mineral, WEST PIONT/GHC CLOSEUP Mineral, WEST
POINT/GHC LACT Meal, JENKS, J/COMPASS PROTEIN Meal, COPPINI - 8# SPECIAL
DAIRY Mix, GULICK, L-LACT Meal (Bulk), TRIPLE J - PROTEIN/LACTATION, ROCK
CREEK/GHC MILK Mineral, BETTENCOURT/GHC S.SIDE MK-MN, BETTENCOURT #1/GHC
MILK MINR, V&C DAIRY/GHC LACT Meal, VEENSTRA, F/GHC LACT Meal, SMUTNY,
A-BYPASS ML W/SMARTA, Recall # V-025-2007
CODE
The firm does not utilize a code - only shipping documentation with
commodity and weights identified.
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Rangen, Inc, Buhl, ID, by letters on February 13 and 14, 2007. Firm
initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Products manufactured from bulk feed containing blood meal that was cross
contaminated with prohibited meat and bone meal and the labeling did not
bear cautionary BSE statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
9,997,976 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
ID and NV
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR MARCH 21, 2007
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2007/ENF00996.html
Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALL USA SEPT 6, 2006 1961.72 TONS IN COMMERCE AL,
TN, AND WV
Date: September 6, 2006 at 7:58 am PST
PRODUCT
a) EVSRC Custom dairy feed, Recall # V-130-6;
snip...
PLEASE SEE FULL TEXT AND LONG LAUNDRY LIST OF MAD COW PROTEIN AND SRM ''IN
COMMERCE'' ;
snip...
(PLEASE NOTE, .005 grams of TSE tainted mad cow feed is lethal enough to
kill a cow. ...tss)
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html
USDA CERTIFIED H-BASE MAD COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/usda-certified-h-base-mad-cow-school.html
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Release No. 0046.08 Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer
Regarding Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company Two Year Product Recall
Release No. 0046.08
Contact:
USDA Press Office (202) 720-4623
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/release-no-004608-statement-by.html
Thursday, February 21, 2008
TRANSCRIPT: Technical Briefing - Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company -
(02/21/08)
Release No. 0054.08
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/transcript-technical-briefing.html
Geographical BSE Risk (GBR) assessments covering 2000-2006
Date : 01.08.2006
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/Scientific_Document/GBR_assessments_table_Overview_assessed_countries_2002-2006.pdf
In this context, a word is in order about the US testing program. After the
discovery of the first (imported) cow in 2003, the magnitude of testing was
much increased, reaching a level of >400,000 tests in 2005 (Figure 4).
Neither of the 2 more recently indigenously infected older animals with
nonspecific clinical features would have been detected without such testing,
and neither would have been identified as atypical without confirmatory
Western blots. Despite these facts, surveillance has now been decimated to
40,000 annual tests (USDA news release no. 0255.06, July 20, 2006) and
invites the accusation that the United States will never know the true
status of its involvement with BSE.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no12/06-0965.htm
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 6:17 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Docket No. 03-025IFA] FSIS Prohibition of the Use of Specified
Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of
Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle
Greetings FSIS,
I would kindly like to submit the following to [Docket No. 03-025IFA] FSIS
Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and
Requirements for the Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle
THE BSE/TSE SUB CLINICAL
Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle Broken bones and such may be the first signs
of a sub clinical BSE/TSE Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle ;
SUB CLINICAL PRION INFECTION MRC-43-00 Issued: Monday, 28 August 2000
NEW EVIDENCE OF SUB-CLINICAL PRION INFECTION: IMPORTANT RESEARCH FINDINGS
RELEVANT TO CJD AND BSE
A team of researchers led by Professor John Collinge at the Medical Research
Council Prion Unit1 report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences, on new evidence for the existence of a sub-clinical form of
BSE in mice which was unknown until now. The scientists took a closer look
at what is known as the species barrier - the main protective factor which
limits the ability of prions2 to jump from one species to infect another.
They found the mice had a sub-clinical form of disease where they carried
high levels of infectivity but did not develop the clinical disease during
their normal lifespan. The idea that individuals can carry a disease and
show no clinical symptoms is not new. It is commonly seen in conventional
infectious diseases. Researchers tried to infect laboratory mice with
hamster prions3 called Sc237 and found that the mice showed no apparent
signs of disease. However, on closer inspection they found that the mice had
high levels of mouse prions in their brains. This was surprising because it
has always been assumed that hamster prions could not cause the disease in
mice, even when injected directly into the brain. In addition the
researchers showed that this new sub-clinical infection could be easily
passed on when injected into healthy mice and hamsters. The height of the
species barrier varies widely between different combinations of animals and
also varies with the type or strain of prions. While some barriers are quite
small (for instance BSE easily infects mice), other combinations of strain
and species show a seemingly impenetrable barrier. Traditionally, the
particular barrier studied here was assumed to be robust. Professor John
Collinge said: "These results have a number of important implications. They
suggest that we should re-think how we measure species barriers in the
laboratory, and that we should not assume that just because one species
appears resistant to a strain of prions they have been exposed to, that they
do not silently carry the infection.
This research raises the possibility, which has been mentioned before, that
apparently healthy cattle could harbour, but never show signs of, BSE. "This
is a timely and unexpected result, increasing what we know about prion
disease. These new findings have important implications for those
researching prion disease, those responsible for preventing infected
material getting into the food chain and for those considering how best to
safeguard health and reduce the risk that theoretically, prion disease could
be contracted through medical and surgical procedures."
ISSUED FRIDAY 25 AUGUST UNDER EMBARGO. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EMBARGO IS SET
BY THE JOURNAL.
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/index/public_interest/public-press_office/public-press_releases_2000/public-mrc-43-00.htm
full text ;
9/13/2005
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/03-025IFA/03-025IFA-2.pdf
[Docket No. FSIS-2006-0011] FSIS Harvard Risk Assessment of Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/2006-0011/2006-0011-1.pdf
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM FROM DOWNER CATTLE UPDATE
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
TSS