News Update
Feb. 18, 2009

Vilsack calls for stricter food labels

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is throwing out food labeling rules proposed by the Agriculture Department just before George W. Bush left office, saying it wants labels for fresh meat and other foods that would show more clearly where an animal or food came from, according to consumer groups who’ve been briefed on the issue.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told several consumer groups Tuesday in a conference call that he will ask the meat industry to voluntarily follow stricter guidelines for new package labels designed to specify a food’s country of origin, according to three people who were on the call. If the industry does not comply, the administration will write new rules, according to those who spoke with Vilsack.

The labeling requirements, which would apply to fresh meats and some perishable fruits and vegetables, long have been debated in Congress and were enacted as part of a wide-ranging farm bill last year. While the meat industry and retailers responsible for the labels have protested the changes — saying they are burdensome and could lead to higher prices — consumer groups and northern states ranchers who compete with the Canadian beef industry favor them.

All sides worked out a compromise during debate over the farm bill last year, but much of the law was left open to interpretation by the Agriculture Department. Supporters of the law were not happy with the Bush administration’s version of the rules, which they said allowed meat companies to be vague about where an animal was born, raised and slaughtered.

According to those on the call, including Jean Halloran of Consumers Union and Patty Lovera of Food and Water Watch, Vilsack said he would like to see labels that would give consumers a clearer idea about the origin of the animal or food.

Vilsack also said the law should cover more foods, Halloran and Lovera said. Many foods that are defined as “processed” — roasted peanuts, for example, or cured bacon — are exempt from the law, but Vilsack proposed narrowing that definition.

Lovera said she was encouraged by the proposals, which Vilsack is expected to lay out in a letter to the meat industry.

“The bottom line is we think people have a right to know and they can act on it based on their own opinions and preferences," she said.

The leading opponents of the law have been grocery stores and large meatpacking companies — many of whom mix U.S. and Mexican beef — and other businesses involved in getting products to supermarkets.

The Obama administration’s changes could cause problems with the country’s North American neighbors. Both Mexico and Canada have protested the labeling law in a complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Obama is scheduled to visit Canada this week.

— By Mary Clare Jalonick

Hemlock woolly adelgid spreads further west in Kentucky

The hemlock woolly adelgid has moved farther west and recently was found on trees at Natural Bridge State Park in Powell County and the Big South Fork in McCreary County, according to the University of Kentucky (UK).

UK Entomology Professor Lynne Rieske-Kinney is working to monitor, study and control the spread of the insect that can devastate Eastern hemlock trees.

“We are trying to learn to manage the hemlock woolly adelgid to preserve the Eastern hemlock because without intervention, this insect could certainly cause the loss of that tree species in Kentucky’s forests,” she said.

Eastern hemlock is a particularly important tree in the state’s forests. It usually is found along stream banks and is crucial to stream health and water quality. Eastern hemlock trees regulate stream temperatures, control sedimentation and provide a resource for wildlife and stream organisms. If hemlocks were to disappear due to the adelgid, it would change the composition and structure of Kentucky’s forests and irreparably alter watershed characteristics.

The hemlock woolly adelgid feeds at the base of a tree’s needles, removing carbohydrates and photosynthates. Without these, trees begin to die.

About the size of a pinhead, hemlock woolly adelgids are not easily detected until they settle on a host and begin secreting a white, woolly mass. The pest is rapidly spreading and could be distributed throughout the state relatively soon.

Rieske-Kinney and UK Forestry Assistant Professor Songlin Fei are using remote sensing technologies to locate hemlocks in the state’s forests and track the spread of the adelgid.

“The hemlock woolly adelgid spreads most readily by songbirds, and there are a number of songbird species that are hemlock dependent,” she said. “It can also be transported other ways, including by wind currents or by latching onto other forms of wildlife.”

Since the pest was first discovered in southeastern Kentucky in 2006, hundreds of trees have been treated by a systemic insecticide injection into the root zone. There have also been several releases of biological control agents including two species of predatory beetles.

Rieske-Kinney is also evaluating the adelgid’s effects on forest structure and composition and watershed characteristics and exploring what characteristics of the Eastern hemlock make it so susceptible to the pest, with the goal of identifying specific mechanisms of host plant resistance. In collaboration with Entomology Assistant Professor James Harwood, she is also evaluating the role native predators may play in regulating adelgid populations, with the hope that the effectiveness of these native predators might be enhanced through forest management practices.

— By Katie Pratt, of the UK College of Agriculture, which provided this release.

United Kingdom confirms first case of vCJD associated with blood plasma

The United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) confirmed Tuesday that abnormal prion protein associated with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) was found postmortem in the spleen of a person with hemophilia.

According to HPA’s press release, the patient, who was more than 70 years old, died of a condition unrelated to vCJD and had shown no symptoms of vCJD or any other neurological condition prior to his death. Experts say the patient may have received plasma contaminated with the abnormal protein prion when he was treated with a blood-clotting protein from a donor in 1996 who subsequently developed vCJD.

According to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), this is the first known case of a patient contracting the abnormal prion through plasma transfusion. The vCJD abnormal prion protein was only identified during postmortem research tests. It is important to remember that no cases of vCJD have been connected to beef consumed in the United States, NCBA notes.

— Information provided by NCBA.

The Sustainability Principle: Turning Crisis Into Opportunity

Alltech’s 2009 Animal Health and Nutrition Symposium will examine how sustainability efforts can elevate business strategy and drive profits.

As the economy and businesses struggle and the world faces unprecedented challenges, the annual Alltech Symposium will focus on finding answers to the major issues facing the animal feed industry, including rising feed costs, managing in a time of crisis and sustaining and growing business in an economic downturn.

“The Sustainability Principle: Securing long term profitability in a period of crisis” is the theme for Alltech’s 25th Annual Symposium. The meeting, held in Lexington, Ky., May 17-20, is regarded as a premier industry conference, known for the caliber of speakers and research presented. Comprised of industry and species-specific presentations as well as interactive sessions, professionals from around the world can exchange ideas and strategies and offer solutions to forge a brighter future for the animal nutrition industry. Visit www.alltech.com to learn more.

— Adapted from a release provided by Alltech.

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