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TSCRA
News Update
VOL. 26 • NO. 1 • January 19, 2004
USDA
Issues new regulations to guard against BSE
TSCRA
responds to events surrounding news of BSE case in U.S.
Scientists
clone BSE-resistant calves
American
Culinary Federation urges chefs to act responsibly
U.S.
beef "held hostage on the high seas"
NCBA
distributes recent video footage of U.S. cattle operations
International
team of experts will review USDA’s BSE investigation
Consumers
remain confident in safety of U.S. beef
Wholesale
beef prices drop 10 to 15 percent
Beef
Board activates checkoff crisis fund for BSE response
Check
TSCRA's web site for latest BSE Info
Calendar
USDA
Issues new regulations to guard against BSE
Agriculture
Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced on Dec. 30 that USDA would
implement additional safeguards against Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy and accelerate development of a national animal
identification system.
Specifically,
all downed animals are banned from the human food supply;
carcasses from all animals tested for BSE must be held pending
receipt of test results; Specified Risk Material from cattle over
30 months of age will be banned from entering the human food
chain; rules for Advanced Meat Recovery will be broadened; use
air-injected stunning devices will be banned; mechanically
separated meat will be prohibited in human food.
Downer Animals.
Effective immediately, USDA will ban all downer cattle from the
human food chain. USDA will continue its BSE surveillance program.
"While this may ‘sound good,’ such a prohibition
is not supported by science, would be a waste of perfectly safe
beef and would indeed be counter-productive to USDA’s BSE
surveillance," said James H. Hodges, president of the
American Meat Institute Foundation, after the new rule was
announced.
"Holding
carcasses or product pending test results is routine practice in
the meat industry," Hodges said. "It is unfortunate that
the plant that processed the cow at issue in Washington State
released the carcass, but we are confident tat beef from the cow
is safe because the infectious agent is not contained in muscle
cuts like steaks and ground beef."
Hodges
added that, "Earlier this year, legislation that would
require euthanization of nom-ambulatory animals arriving at meat
plants— no matter what the cause—was rejected by Congress.
AMI, along with many other organizations, opposed this legislation
because it would have hampered the U.S. surveillance system for
BSE.
"Indeed,
had this law been in effect, it is unlikely that BSE would have
been detected in the cow at issue in Washington State because
surveillance occurs at the plant level—not on the farm."
Product Holding.
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors will no longer
mark cattle tested for BSE as "inspected and passed"
until confirmation is received that the animals have, in fact,
tested negative for BSE. This new policy will be in the form of an
interpretive rule that will be published in the Federal
Register.
To
prevent the entry into commerce of meat and meat food products
that are adulterated, FSIS inspection program personnel perform
ante- and post-mortem inspection of cattle that are slaughtered in
the United States. As part of the ante-mortem inspection, FSIS
personnel look for signs of disease, including signs of central
nervous system impairment.
USDA
said animals showing signs of systemic disease, including those
exhibiting signs of neurologic impairment, are condemned. Meat
from all condemned animals has never been permitted for use as
human food.
Specified Risk
Material. Effective immediately upon publication in the
Federal Register, USDA will enhance its regulations by declaring
as specified risk materials skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia,
eyes, vertebral column, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of
cattle over 30 months of age and the distal ilium of cattle of all
ages, thus prohibiting their use in the human food supply.
Tonsils
from all cattle are already considered inedible and therefore do
not enter the food supply. These enhancements are consistent with
the actions taken by Canada after the discovery of BSE in May.
In
an interim final rule, FSIS will require federally inspected
establishments that slaughter cattle to develop, implement and
maintain procedures to remove, segregate, and dispose of these
specified risk materials so that they cannot possibly enter the
food chain. Plants must also make that information readily
available for review by FSIS inspection personnel.
FSIS
has also developed procedures for verifying the approximate age of
cattle that are slaughtered in official establishments. State
inspected plants must have equivalent procedures in place.
Advanced Meat
Recovery. AMR is an industrial technology that removes muscle
tissue from the bone of beef carcasses under high pressure without
incorporating bone material when operated properly. AMR product
can be labeled as "meat."
FSIS
has previously had regulations in place that prohibit spinal cord
from being included in products labeled as "meat." The
regulation, effective upon publication in the Federal
Register, expands that prohibition to include dorsal root
ganglia, clusters of nerve cells connected to the spinal cord
along the vertebrae column, in addition to spinal cord tissue.
Like
spinal cord, the dorsal root ganglia may also contain BSE
infectivity if the animal is infected. In addition, because the
vertebral column and skull in cattle 30 months and older will be
considered inedible, it cannot be used for AMR.
In
March 2003, FSIS began a routine regulatory sampling program for
beef produced from AMR systems to ensure that spinal cord tissue
is not present in this product. In a new interim final rule
announced Dec. 30, establishments have to ensure process control
through verification testing to ensure that neither spinal cord
nor dorsal root ganglia is present in the product.
Air-Injection
Stunning. To ensure that portions of the brain are not
dislocated into the tissues of the carcass as a consequence of
humanely stunning cattle during the slaughter process, FSIS is
issuing a regulation to ban the practice of air-injection
stunning.
Mechanically
Separated Meat. USDA will prohibit use of mechanically
separated meat in human food.
J. Patrick Boyle, president and CEO of the American Meat
Institute, said that air-injected stunners are no longer
manufactured. "AMI called upon its members to discontinue use
of these stunners more than five years ago," Boyle said.
"To our knowledge no such equipment is in use in
plants." He added that mechanically separated beef is not
produced in the U.S. at this time.
Veneman said the new policies have been under consideration
for many months, especially since the finding of a case of BSE in
Canada in May 2003.
TSCRA
responds to events surrounding news of BSE case in U.S.
"TSCRA—we’re there when you can’t be."
That’s
more than just a catchy phrase; it’s TSCRA’s commitment to our
members. And never has it been more important than in the long
hours following the announcement that BSE had been found in the
United States.
TSCRA
got a media advisory at 4:18 p.m. on Dec. 23. Some of us were just
minutes away from starting our Christmas holidays. Others were
decked out in their festive finery for evening parties.
But
all of that was put aside as we . . . and beef organization staff
members across the state . . . went quickly to our phones. We knew
exactly what to do . . . we’d done it before. No, not for real,
but in painstaking simulation of a similar event.
Quick
distribution of accurate information was critical—to staff,
producer leaders, members, industry stakeholders, industry
partners and advisors, government and human health agencies, trade
and consumer media.
A teamwork approach
The
Texas Beef Issues Team was formed in 2001 to work together and
share the responsibility for providing accurate, up-to-date
information. Members are Texas Beef Council, Texas Cattle Feeders
Association, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association,
Texas Farm Bureau, Independent Cattleman’s Association of Texas,
Texas Department of Agriculture and Texas Animal Health
Commission.
Our
message was clear—U.S. beef and milk are safe. BSE is not found
in muscle meats or milk; it is found only in central nervous
tissues such as brain and spinal cords. This single case of BSE
was identified by the active and continuous USDA surveillance and
monitoring program that has been in effect since 1990.
The
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association conducted a media briefing
at 5:15 p.m. to relay what was known about the infected dairy cow
and facts about BSE and established firewalls for safety. TSCRA
and other NCBA state affiliates across the country monitored this
briefing. Then TSCRA issues team—Matt Brockman, Crystal Bryant,
Ellen Humphries, Todd McCartney and Susan Wagner—joined the
Texas Beef Issues Team conference call at 6 p.m.
Our
phones had begun ringing non-stop even before Secretary of
Agriculture Ann Veneman finished her announcement, and every call
had to be answered.
The
team agreed that media calls from Austin south would be forwarded
to Texas Beef Council. TSCRA would respond to media in Dallas-Fort
Worth and the northern part of the state. Texas Cattle Feeders
would handle calls from the Panhandle and trade media.
Erin
Worrell, communications manager for Texas Beef Council in Austin,
was the hub for receiving and dispersing information to and from
team members. She spent many long hours keeping us up to date,
including straight through Christmas Day.
Team
members went to work immediately after the conference call.
TSCRA’s Kristen Hawkins fielded hundreds of calls. Matt Brockman
gave interviews to dozens of radio, TV and newspaper reporters.
Crystal Bryant furnished reams of background material and directed
members and media to expert sources.
By
midday on Christmas Eve TSCRA’s web site featured a special
section on BSE, which Susan Wagner updated with daily reports.
Ellen Humphries and Todd McCartney monitored daily technical
briefings from USDA, and updates from NCBA and the beef issues
team. McCartney provided information directly to producers during
Beef Quality Assurance training sessions.
TSCRA talks to the media
TSCRA
is a trusted source of information about the beef industry. Media
representatives across the country know they can call TSCRA and
get the information they need in time to make their deadlines.
Following is a list of media that contacted TSCRA from Dec. 23-Jan
2:
CBS
Evening News, New York City; NBC News, New York City; Channel 4
News (Fox), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW); Channel 5 News (NBC), DFW;
Channel 8 News (ABC), DFW; Channel 11 News (CBS), DFW; Channel 12
(CBS), Sherman; Channel 29 (Fox), San Antonio; Channel 33 (WB),
DFW; KTRH radio, Houston; KTSA radio, San Antonio; National Public
Radio; Texas State Network (TSN) radio; WOAI radio, San Antonio;
Amarillo Globe-News; Associated Press, Houston; Associated Press,
Livestock Weekly; Lubbock; Colorado County newspaper; Dallas
Morning News; Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Graham Leader; Henderson
Daily News; Houston Chronicle; Land and Livestock Post,
Bryan-College Station; Llano County newspaper; McAllen Monitor;
Plano Star-Courier; Waco
Tribune; and Wichita Falls Times Record-News.
Dues and checkoff dollars
work on BSE case
"News
coverage on BSE, in large part, has been balanced," said
TSCRA President Bob McCan. "The beef industry was able to get
its message out, because of you—our producer members. Your dues
made TSCRA’s participation possible.
"Your
checkoff dollars were also crucial," McCan continued.
"Fifty cents out of each checkoff dollar stays in Texas to
support the beef promotion activities of the Texas Beef Council.
Their efforts in this situation have been tireless and invaluable.
"The
peerless efforts of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
also are a direct result of investing checkoff dollars into a
comprehensive issues-management program," McCan said.
Within
15 minutes of USDA’s public announcement of a presumptive
positive case of BSE in Washington State, the checkoff program’s
issues-management team held a news conference with about 120 media
participants, including CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS Radio Network, Reuters,
Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and National Public Radio.
In addition, much of the scientific information that is being
distributed is a result of previous checkoff investments into
research programs.
"Producers
are clearly seeing a direct return on their checkoff
dollars," McCan emphasized.
News
Glance
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Scientists
clone BSE-resistant calves. Korean researchers have
succeeded in cloning cows resistant to bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, according to the Korea
Times. Researchers at Seoul National University inserted
mutant prions into cows’ eggs that had the nuclei removed
and then cultivated the eggs in surrogate cows, the newspaper
reported. The team believes the mutant proteins can protect
animals from the abnormal prions believed to cause BSE. Four
calves were cloned and researchers have impregnated 15 more
cows with clones. The calves will be sent to Tsukuba, Japan,
for testing, which is expected to take three to five years to
complete, the newspaper said. —meatingplace.com
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The
American Culinary Federation urged chefs to act responsibly
following discovery of a BSE-infected cow in the United
States. ACF President Edward G. Leonard said, "We are
confident in the systems implemented by the U.S. beef industry
and U.S. government to ensure the safety of America’s beef
supply." Leonard is a certified master chef and executive
chef of the Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. "Beef
is an important offering in the vast majority of U.S.
foodservice operations," Leonard continued. ñAmerican
chefs must strive to educate their customers and not overreact
to what they might hear or read from . . . groups who would
try to exaggerate the situation to meet their own
ends."
—American Culinary
Federation
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U.S.
beef "held hostage on the high seas." The
U.S. Meat Export Federation estimated that 1,800 to 2,000
containers of beef and beef products that left U.S. shores
prior to the BSE announcement were stuck in transit.
"These containers of highly perishable product are being
held hostage on the high seas because our trading partners
closed the borders at the moment of announcement," said
Phil Seng, USMEF president and CEO. "As a result, an
estimated $200 million in beef inventories cannot be moved.
This beef is safe and BSE-free by any definition. We ask the
administration to make this its highest priority now—because
time is running out for this product." —U.S.
Meat Export Federation
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NCBA
distributed recent video footage of U.S. cattle operations
to national broadcast and cable stations. NCBA said, "We
are calling on broadcasters to stop using the old and
misleading footage of a British Holstein cow with BSE
stumbling around. There has been inordinate use of this
footage, which is in no way representative of what is
happening today. The footage is being offered for use as
broadcasters see fit."
—National
Cattlemen’s Beef Association
-
An
international team of experts will review USDA’s BSE
investigation, at the request of Secretary of
Agriculture Ann Veneman. The review will be conducted
following the completion of the epidemiological investigation.
The team will be led by Dr. Ulrich Kihm, former Chief
Veterinary officer of Switzerland, who now owns a consulting
company, Safe Food Solutions, Inc. In addition to Dr. Kihm,
USDA has tentative commitments from William Hueston, director
of the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety, University of
Minnesota; Dagmar Heim, chief of the BSE control program in
the Swiss Veterinary Office; and Stuart MacDiarmid, a BSE
expert with the government of New Zealand.
—U.S. Department of
Agriculture
-
Consumers
remain confident in the safety of U.S. beef despite
the discovery of a single cow with bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) in Washington state, according to
checkoff-funded research conducted Dec. 29 and 30. Awareness
among consumers of BSE was at 96 percent following the
discovery, compared with 61 percent last September.
Nevertheless, confidence remained strong, going from 88
percent in September to 89 percent in December. The research,
commissioned on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and
state beef councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association was conducted through the checkoff by the research
firm IPSOS-Reid. It is statistically representative of the
U.S. adult population, and has a plus/minus 3.2 percent margin
of error.
—National
Cattlemen’s Beef Association
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Wholesale
beef prices have dropped 10 to 15 percent since the
announcement of BSE in Washington State, said Randy Blach,
executive vice-president of Cattle-Fax, on Jan. 6. Fed steer
prices were 20 percent less than pre-announcement and showing
some signs of stability. Despite an historically small level
of beef production in the fourth quarter of 2003 (smallest per
capita net beef supplies since the late 1970s’), there is a
temporary excess beef inventory that will have to be
domestically absorbed. More than two dozen nations have
imposed bans on U.S. beef products, and $200 million worth of
beef products that were enroute to foreign countries prior to
the announcement are being returned. An unknown, according to
Blach, is how much of the product that was destined for the
U.S. from Australia and New Zealand will be redirected to
Pacific Rim countries. This will be a factor in determining
how much product will have to be absorbed by the domestic
market near term. —Cattle
Fax
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Beef
Board activates checkoff crisis fund for BSE response. The
Executive Committee of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board approved
activation of a $1 million issues-management crisis fund from
the national Beef Checkoff Program to pay for programming
related to the first case of BSE in the U.S. The checkoff
dollars will be used to market beef—that otherwise would
have been sold overseas—through U.S. supermarkets and
restaurants. The funds will also be used to purchase
additional beef checkoff radio ads that will air leading up to
the Super Bowl on Feb. 1. Previously planned ñBeef. It’s
What’s for Dinnerî television advertising will be
rescheduled to begin the week before the Super Bowl through
Valentine’s Day. The ads are designed to increase beef
consumption around one of the world’s biggest sporting
events.
—Cattlemen’s Beef
Board
Check
TSCRA's web site for latest BSE Info
Since the news broke on Dec. 23, TSCRA has used its web
site to keep members up-to-date on the latest developments
surrounding the discovery of BSE in Washington State.
The
goal has been to provide in-depth coverage of the case and
background about bovine spongiform encephalopathy that would be
useful to cattle producers. From Dec. 23 through Jan. 9, 68 links
to specific information have been furnished. These include:
•
Daily updates from the U. S. Department of Agriculture
•
Daily updates from the National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association
•
Transcripts of press conferences with USDA officials
•
A BSE fact sheet from USDA’s Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS)
•
An overview of BSE from APHIS
•
A timeline of USDA actions to prevent BSE, from 1988 to the
present
•
A description of USDA’s BSE surveillance program, which
has been in effect for 13 years
•
A copy of USDA’s BSE Response Plan Summary, which details
comprehensive instructions for USDA staff as to who is to do what,
when, where and how in the event of a BSE diagnosis in the United
States
•
Background on the U.S. beef and cattle industry from
USDA’s Economic Research Service
•
Information on BSE, Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CJD) and New
Variant CJD (nvCJD)
•
A statement from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
•
Information about Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s
accelerated daily price limits
•
News release from the American Culinary Federation
regarding chefs and BSE
•
News release on livestock risk protection insurance
•
Statement from the Food and Drug Administration
•
News release from the Texas State Veterinarian
•
Statement from the U.S. Meat Export Federation
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Guidance for exporting ruminant products or products
containing ruminant-origin materials
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Guidance for products being held at a foreign port
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Why consumers should continue to eat beef with confidence
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Impact on demand and cattle prices
•
BSE trade ban status
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USDA announces additional protection measures to guard
against BSE
•
What to do if a reporter calls you
•
Consumer research results from Dec. 29-30
•
Information on organic beef
•
An economic fact sheet about beef
•
USDA officials meet with counterparts in Mexico regarding
beef trade
•
Announcement of NCBA satellite town hall meeting on BSE
response
To read any of these
items, log on to TSCRA’s web site at
www.texascattleraisers.org and click on square that says "BSE
Info"
Calendar
Jan. 22—Texas
Beef Quality Producer Program, Milano Civic Center, Milano, Texas.
1
(800) 242-7820, ext. 118.
Jan. 28-31—National
Cattlemen’s Beef Association Annual Convention and Trade Show,
Phoenix, Ariz. (303) 694-0305.
Feb. 6-22—San Antonio
Stock Show, San Antonio, Texas. (210) 225-0575.
Feb. 17—Texas Beef
Quality Producer Program, Stephens County Ag Community Center,
Breckenridge, Texas. 1 (800) 242-7820, ext. 118.
March 2-21—Houston
Livestock Show and Rodeo, Houston, Texas. (832) 667-1000.
March 2-5—International
Livestock Congress, Warwick Park Plaza Hotel, Houston, Texas.
(817)
367-6563.
March 6-7—Tenth
Annual TSCRA School for Successful Ranching, Austin, Texas.
1 (800)
242-7820, ext. 118.
March 7-10—TSCRA
Annual Convention and Trade Show, Austin, Texas. (1 (800)
242-7820.
March 7—Texas Beef
Quality Producer Program-Level II only, Austin Convention Center,
Austin,
Texas. 1
(800) 242-7820, ext. 118.
March 7—TSCRA Legal
Seminar, sponsored by Jackson Walker LLP, Austin Convention
Center,
Austin,
Texas. 1 (800) 242-7820.
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