NO USDA GRADE ON IMPORTED MEAT

[HAY MAKER]

Senator wants no USDA grades on beef, lamb imports
Wed Nov 16, 2005 1:19 PM ET
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By Charles Abbott
WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Agriculture
Department would be effectively barred from grading imported
beef and mutton under a Senate bill introduced on Wednesday
that aims to help consumers differentiate between American and
imported meat.
Sen. Tim Johnson, a Democrat from South Dakota, said his
bill was a new approach to give grocery shoppers more
information now that Congress has postponed a federal
requirement for country-of-origin labeling on packages of red
meat until Sept. 30, 2008.
Meat companies and retailers have fought the
country-of-origin label, saying it would be costly and create
too much paperwork.
"When American consumers pick up a 'USDA Choice' steak at
the grocery store, they should be guaranteed it is 100 percent
U.S. beef," Johnson said.
"People sometimes assume that a USDA quality grade for meat
products indicates the product is of U.S. origin. This is often
not the case."
Johnson's bill would amend the federal meat inspection law
to prohibit imported beef or imported lamb from being graded by
the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. It would classify
imported meat that has been graded as "misbranded."
The USDA has required since 1962 that imported carcasses,
sides and cuts be stamped with country of origin until they are
graded, but there is no requirement that the origin information
be passed on from there, Johnson said.
In 1999, Johnson filed a similar bill. He dropped that
approach to promote country-of-origin labeling, which was part
of the 2002 farm law. However, Congress has now voted twice to
delay mandatory labeling.

 

[Tommy]

Maybe he (Senator Tim Johnson) has found another way to skin this fox.

I am all for something that will differenciate our product from the imported products.

 

[Sandhusker]

:clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[RobertMac]

The next step should be to require that labeling information at the border be maintained to the consumer. Boxed beef is labeled by country of origin at the border, now...the integrity of that label should be able to go all the way to the consumer with little or no extra cost!!!!!

You Canadians should back this!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Clap for the liberal Senator Tim Johnson Sandman. He's playing your protectionist song!

Save the consumers from themselves.

I wish Canada would label their beef as "SOURCE VERIFIED MAPLE LEAF BEEF". I also wish that someone would document the sales of Canadian beef so that data could be shoved up R-CULT's protectionist arses. They need to be introduced to their ignorance again and again.

Good job Tim Johnson, make foreign beef look like it was not inspected by removing the USDA inspection stamp. There's more than one way to make foreign beef look inferior isn't there? At least this way, you don't have to jeoprodize the integrity of the U.S. beef supply and change your story when lying about the affects of BSE.

What the hell does "misbranded" mean?

I say Canadians, due to the quality of their cattle, should label their beef Canadian Source Verified Beef and have it USDA inspected and stamped. Johnson and company want to remove the U.S.D.A. inspection stamp to create the "ILLUSION" that it wasn't inspected. This is so TYPICAL of the deceptive tactics of R-CULT and their liberal senators. No wonder Sandman claps! More deceptive tactics is par for his pathetic deceiving ways.

I knew the only way these protectionists would compete with foreign beef is to isolate it then lie about it's safety or create the image it wasn't inspected. This was so predictable I just wasn't sure the deceptive avenue they would take. Absolutely pathetic!




~SH~

 

[Anonymous]

Who's paying you Reader? BSE testers of America?

Back at ya!

I would think most consumers would want all beef inspected by USDA prior to that beef being placed in front of their kids. Oh, that's right your kids don't eat beef and you want to talk about bias?

Give me a break!


~SH~

 

[rkaiser]

As a Canadian producer, I see no problem with this proposal either. Did the USDA stamp ever help the producer of Canada? Hell no. It's simply another one of the many politically generated advantages Cargill and Tyson have. Do you think I can get my product into an American restaurant without identification? Would I even want to?

Canada needs to start promoting the fact that only our best is even ALLOWED into the USA.

Who are you suggesting reader 2nd works for SH?

We know that in your case, you work but don't get paid, just like the puppets at the theater, or Batman, or Superman, or Mighty Mouse.

 

[Anonymous]

HAHAHAHA!

Fine Randy, remove the USDA inspection stamp from Canadian beef. I'll bet our consumers will clammer to buy uninspected beef. You are without a doubt R-CULT's greatest ally. No wonder they love you so much. You play their cards for them.

While they are removing you from our market, you assist them.

I've heard everything now!


~SH~

 

[Tommy]

SH...I would think most consumers would want all beef inspected by USDA prior to that beef being placed in front of their kids.

You think, but you do not know for sure Scott. You also think that consumers should know that USDA inspected does not mean a product of the USA. Those are your opinions. I disagree on both counts.
First, is all beef coming into the USA USDA inspected? Or does some of it just have to meet USDA standards?
Second, every person I have ever talked to, that is not involved in the cattle industry, thinks USDA inspected on a meat label means that it came from the USA.

 

[rkaiser]

SH

Fine Randy, remove the USDA inspection stamp from Canadian beef. I'll bet our consumers will clammer to buy uninspected beef. You are without a doubt R-CULT's greatest ally. No wonder they love you so much. You play their cards for them.

Yip Gopher trapper that's what I said. Uninspected beef. You are making yourself look like a total idiot this morning SH.

I gotta go.

 

[fedup2]

I have been following some of your arguments SH & I am a little confused. During the Creekstone discussions you claimed that by having the sticker 'BSE tested' the public would be deceived! Having the sticker would not mean it was BSE free and would create the 'illusion' that it was BSE free when if fact is was just tested.

Now you are stating how important it is to have a 'USDA inspected' sticker on the same meat. I am thinking about the thousands and thousands of pounds of meat recalled when e-coli has been found, and this meat already had a USDA inspected sticker on it. Does this sticker guaranty that the meat is actually safe or e-coli free or is it creating the same 'illusion' of safety because it has only been inspected? If the public is being deceived by one, why is the other different?

I am not stating that it shouldn't be inspected! I am just wondering why there is a difference between the labels implying or deceiving.

As always, more questions than answers!

 

[Sandhusker]

SH, "I say Canadians, due to the quality of their cattle, should label their beef Canadian Source Verified Beef and have it USDA inspected and stamped. Johnson and company want to remove the U.S.D.A. inspection stamp to create the "ILLUSION" that it wasn't inspected. This is so TYPICAL of the deceptive tactics of R-CULT and their liberal senators. No wonder Sandman claps! More deceptive tactics is par for his pathetic deceiving ways. "

Johnson is fighting an "illusion" all right - it is the "illusion" that USDA inspected means US product.

You think that's not the case? Look at meat ads - don't they say USDA inspected even though ALL meat has to be inspected? You can't buy non-inspected meat. Advertising USDA inspected meat is like advertising beef from cattle or pork from a hog - to those of us who know what that stamp means. Figure it out - it's not that hard.

 

[Murgen]

Stamp it all "USDA inspected, not necessarilly US grown"

That would be the most truthful statement!

 

[Anonymous]

T: "First, is all beef coming into the USA USDA inspected? Or does some of it just have to meet USDA standards?"

How can anyone determine if it meets USDA standards if it's not inspected?

SLAP!

T: "Second, every person I have ever talked to, that is not involved in the cattle industry, thinks USDA inspected on a meat label means that it came from the USA."

SO WHAT!

95% of the beef that is labeled as USDA inspected at the retail level is U.S. beef and who the hell is going to buy beef that is not USDA inspected due to your concern for labeling?

It's an irrelevant argument Tommy!

If consumers were so concerned about buying U.S. beef they can buy source verified beef right now without your flawed unenforeable government mandate.


~SH~

 

[Anonymous]

Sandman: "Johnson is fighting an "illusion" all right - it is the "illusion" that USDA inspected means US product."

Which nobody seems to have a problem with other than the import blamers who think they need to save consumers from themselves.

Sandman: "You think that's not the case? Look at meat ads - don't they say USDA inspected even though ALL meat has to be inspected? You can't buy non-inspected meat."

WELL IF USDA IS THE INSPECTION AGENCY, WHAT THE HELL SHOULD IT SAY? R-CULT INSPECTED?

Sandman: "Figure it out - it's not that hard."

That's right, it's not that hard to figure out.

Remove the inspection stamp from foreign beef and create the "ILLUSION" that it's not inspected. Dirty politics!

Fedup: "Now you are stating how important it is to have a 'USDA inspected' sticker on the same meat. I am thinking about the thousands and thousands of pounds of meat recalled when e-coli has been found, and this meat already had a USDA inspected sticker on it. Does this sticker guaranty that the meat is actually safe or e-coli free or is it creating the same 'illusion' of safety because it has only been inspected? If the public is being deceived by one, why is the other different?"

Having USDA inspect beef is a justified legitimate effort towards food safety. No it doesn't guarantee food safety but it's a big step in that direction.

In contrast, BSE testing cattle under 24 months of age with the test that Creekstone wanted to use is solely selling an illusion of safety because BSE prions were not detectable in cattle under 24 months of age using THOSE TESTS.

One makes safer beef and the other doesn't. The two are not comparable.



~SH~

 

[feeder]

I said before, in order for the USDA inspected stamp to be put on beef, the inspector has to have the carcass available to examine. Unless they changed the law it is illegal. My source for my statement comes from a retired Fed. inspector. The packers are going to fight this tooth and nail. Processors mix imported with domestic according to a set percentage allowed. I wonder what label would be put on that.

 

[Andy]

Someone correct me if I am wrong but Johnsons bill would only not put a grade on it, but would have nothing to do with inspections. I would not have a problem with this other than now all the Canadian beef could be labeled "prime USDA inspected beef" when in reality it is select USDA quality grade.

 

[Sandhusker]

SH, since you're so concerned about "illusions" and "deception", why do you refuse to recognize the obvious illusion US consumers have with what that USDA actually means?

You claim nobody should BSE test becasue it won't find anything anyway, but you have no problem with grocers advertising their beef as "USDA inspected" when it is all inspected anyway?

You sure have a lot of inconsistancies for somebody who claims to have no bias. Then again, it looks like there's not many people who believe your only bias is the "truth", anyway. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Sandman: "....you have no problem with grocers advertising their beef as "USDA inspected" when it is all inspected anyway?"

What better assurance that beef is inspected by USDA than for a stamp to appear on the beef stating that it is inspected by USDA?

Would you like to add a disclaimer suggesting that there is a 5% chance this beef might be imported? Would that save consumers from themselves?

You import blamers raise flags over absolutely nothing!



~SH~

 

[Sandhusker]

Sandman: "....you have no problem with grocers advertising their beef as "USDA inspected" when it is all inspected anyway?"

What better assurance that beef is inspected by USDA than for a stamp to appear on the beef stating that it is inspected by USDA?

Would you like to add a disclaimer suggesting that there is a 5% chance this beef might be imported? Would that save consumers from themselves?

You import blamers raise flags over absolutely nothing!





~SH~

Why do you need assurance? If the meat is being sold in the US, it's a given the USDA approved it.