News Update

News Update
Oct. 9, 2007

Wisconsin Firm Recalls Ground Beef Due to Possible E. coli Contamination

An additional ground beef recall was announced Saturday, Oct. 6 due to a possible E. Coli O157:H7 contamination.

Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. is voluntarily recalling approximately 845,000 pounds (lb.) of frozen ground beef patties produced at its Butler, Wis., location because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The frozen ground beef patties were produced on various dates from Aug. 9 through Aug. 17, 2007, and were distributed to retail establishments, restaurants and institutions nationwide. Each label bears the establishment number “Est. 924A” inside the USDA mark of inspection.

According to FSIS, the problem was discovered through an investigation into three illnesses by the Minnesota Departments of Health and Agriculture. While the investigation is ongoing, Cargill is voluntarily recalling the products based on a preliminary analysis of epidemiological data.

Consumers with questions about the recall should call Cargill toll-free at 1-866-567-7899.

For a complete list of products distributed to retail establishments and subject to recall, visit www.fsis.usda.gov.

Public Meeting on Different E. coli Strains Planned

FSIS, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have announced a public meeting to solicit input on the public health significance of various strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli).

Currently only one strain, E. coli O157:H7 is considered an adulterant in meat. The CDC has reported an increase in the number of non-O157:H7 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infections from 2000 to 2005. Outbreaks from these organisms have been reported in the U.S. since 1990, and foodborne exposures have been suspected in many of these outbreaks.

The purpose of the meeting is to solicit input from academia, consumers, other public health and regulatory agencies and industry on the issue of whether non-O157:H7 STECs should be considered to be adulterants as E. coli O157:H7.

The public meeting will be on Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the George Mason University Arlington campus, 3401 N. Fairfax Dr., Room 244, Arlington, VA 22201.

To preregister to attend in person or via teleconference, visit FSIS’ web site at www.fsis.usda.gov or contact Sheila Johnson at 202-690-6498 or by e-mail at Sheila.Johnson@fsis.usda.gov.

The agenda and other related information will be available prior to the meeting on the FSIS web site at www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/.

All interested parties are welcome to submit comments by Oct. 15 to Dr. Denise Eblen by phone 202-690-6238, fax 202-690-6364, e-mail Denise.Eblen@fsis.usda.gov, or by mail to U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Office of Public Health Science, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., 357 Aerospace Center, Washington, DC 20250. Persons requiring a sign language interpreter or other special accommodations should notify Eblen by Oct. 10.

— Release provided by FSIS.

Cruel Deaths in Mexico a Result of Closing U.S. Horse Processing Plants, AVMA says

Efforts to shut down horse processing plants in the United States have led to increased abandonment and neglect of horses in this country and the inhumane death of horses in Mexico, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

Mark Lutschaunig, director of the AVMA Governmental Relations Division, says that the AVMA, far from being pro-horse slaughter, opposes bills banning slaughter because there are no provisions to take care of the more than 100,000 horses that go unwanted annually in the United States.

“If they think that by passing one of these bills they’ll get rid of the problem of unwanted horses, they’re simply fooling themselves,” Lutschaunig said.

Efforts by groups calling for an end to horse slaughter, such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), have led to the closure of the three remaining processing plants in the United States. Now, as the AVMA has repeatedly warned, horses are being abandoned in the United States or transported to Mexico where, without U.S. federal oversight and veterinary supervision, they are harvested inhumanely.

“The reality is, the HSUS has done nothing to address the real issue here, and, in fact, by seeking to ban horse slaughter, they have made things significantly worse,” Lutschaunig said. “If they really wanted to do something productive to improve the welfare of horses, they would address the issue of unwanted horses in the United States.”

Even if a bill passes banning the transport of horses for harvest, it would be nearly impossible to enforce. Such a law could easily be circumvented by transporting and selling horses as “working” or “pleasure” horses, only to have them end up in an unregulated foreign harvesting facility.

“The AVMA does not support horse slaughter,” Lutschaunig said. “Ideally, we would have the infrastructure in this country to adequately feed and care for all horses. But the sad reality is that we have a number of horses that, for whatever reason, are unwanted. Transporting them under USDA supervision to USDA-regulated facilities where they are humanely euthanized is a much better option than neglect, starvation, or an inhumane death in Mexico.”

For more information, contact Michael San Filippo, media relations assistant, at 847-285-6687 (office), 847-732-6194 (cell), or msanfilippo@avma.org.

— Release provided by AVMA.

Soybean Checkoff Partners to Support Animal Agriculture

The farmer-leaders of the United Soybean Board (USB) and the soybean checkoff have partnered with the Center for Food Integrity (CFI) to expand the checkoff’s efforts to support a strong domestic animal agriculture industry. Together USB and CFI will educate consumers about the contemporary U.S. food system by providing information on subjects such as health and nutrition, food safety, the environment and animal well-being.

“For more than three years now, the soybean checkoff has had programs in support of livestock and poultry producers, the number one customer of U.S. soybean meal,” says Phil Bradshaw, a farmer from Griggsville, Ill., and leader of USB’s Animal Agriculture Initiative. “The soybean checkoff has been a major driver behind uniting state and national agricultural organizations together to support livestock producers. We’ve been very successful so far, and partnering with CFI is just the next step in helping to build a stronger agriculture industry.”

To learn more about the soybean checkoff's efforts to support animal agriculture, visit www.animalag.org.

— Release provided by USB.

OIE to host second conference on animal welfare

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) will host its second OIE Global Conference on Animal Welfare, slated for Oct. 20- 22, 2008, in Cairo, Egypt, Meatingplace.com reports.

OIE and partner organizations will review progress made by countries, the world veterinary community and livestock industries in the fields of sea, air and land transport of livestock; livestock harvest for human consumption and killing for disease control, according to Meatingplace.com.

— Compiled by Crystal Albers, associate editor, Angus Productions Inc.