News Update
March 16, 2009

Obama Takes on Food Safety

One of the lead stories in national news over the weekend was President Barack Obama’s announced intention to overhaul the nation’s food safety system. Included among the reports were the naming of a new head for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the formation of a Food Safety Working Group to coordinate food safety laws and advise the President on how to update them.

“I’ve often said that I don’t believe government has the answer to every problem or that it can do all things for all people,” President Obama said. “We are a nation built on the strength of individual initiative. But there are certain things that we can’t do on our own. There are certain things only a government can do. And one of those things is ensuring that the foods we eat, and the medicines we take, are safe and don’t cause us harm.”

The President said that was the mission of the FDA, and a mission shared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and “a variety of other agencies and offices at just about every level of government.”

Underfunding and understaffing of FDA has provided resources to inspect only 7,000 of 150,000 processing plants and warehouses, he said, leaving 95% uninspected.

“That is a hazard to public health. It is unacceptable,” said the President. “And it will change under the leadership of Dr. Margaret Hamburg, whom I am appointing today as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.” Appointed deputy commissioner was Baltimore Health Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein.

One sentence in the transcript of Obama’s presentation referred to cows: “As part of our commitment to public health, our Agriculture Department is closing a loophole in the system to ensure that diseased cows don’t find their way into the food supply.” (See also next item for announcement by Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.)

From that, MSNBC ran a story with the headline “Obama bans ‘downer’ cows from food supply” and the deck “President says current food safety system is a ‘hazard to public health.’ The article quoted as a secondary source Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Unfortunately, the article just called Pacelle “the Humane Society’s president and chief executive,” leaving open to confusion the animal rights activist group with your local Humane Society.

Other media ran articles that more reflected the address, but one has question, how will this affect our credibility with export markets? What will this mean in terms of regulations for producers? How large a voice will animal rights activists have in the future regulation of our industry?

Provided below are links to the transcript of President Obama’s address and the reports provided by two U.S. news agencies and one British news agency.

For the transcript of the address, click here.

For the CBS report, click here.

For the MSNBC report, click here.

For the BBC report (British news), click here.

— by Shauna Rose Hermel

Ag Secretary Announces Final Rule for Handling of Non-Ambulatory Cattle

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Saturday announced a final rule to amend the federal meat inspection regulations to require a complete ban on the slaughter of cattle that become non-ambulatory disabled after passing initial inspection by Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspection program personnel.

The final rule amends the federal meat inspection regulations to require that all cattle that are non-ambulatory disabled (“downer”) cattle at any time prior to slaughter at an official establishment, including those that become non-ambulatory disabled after passing antemortem inspection, be condemned and properly disposed of according to FSIS regulations. Additionally, the final rule requires that establishments notify inspection program personnel when cattle become non-ambulatory disabled after passing the antemortem, or preslaughter, inspection.

The rule will enhance consumer confidence in the food supply and improve the humane handling of cattle, said the USDA release.

“President Obama has strongly stated his support for efforts to improve food safety,” Vilsack said. “This rule is designed to enhance consumer confidence and humane handling standards and will provide clear guidance that non-ambulatory cattle will not be allowed to enter the human food supply. It is a step forward for both food safety and the standards for humane treatment of animals.”

Under the final rule, cattle that become non-ambulatory disabled from an acute injury after antemortem inspection will no longer be eligible to proceed to slaughter as “U.S. Suspects.” Instead, FSIS inspectors will tag these cattle as “U.S. Condemned” and prohibit these cattle from proceeding to slaughter.

Discontinuing the case-by-case disposition of cattle that become non-ambulatory disabled after antemortem inspection will eliminate the time FSIS Public Health Veterinarians spend conducting additional inspections on these animals, thereby increasing the time inspection program personnel can allocate to other inspection activities. With this final rule, these cattle now must be humanely euthanized.

On July 13, 2007, FSIS published the final rule, “Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle; Prohibition of the Use of Certain Stunning Devices Used To Immobilize Cattle During Slaughter” (the SRM final rule). The SRM final rule allowed a case-by-case reinspection of cattle that became non-ambulatory disabled after antemortem inspection to address the rare situations in which an animal that is deemed by FSIS as fit for human food at antemortem inspection subsequently suffers an acute injury.

For further information, contact Daniel Engeljohn, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Policy and Program Development, FSIS, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250, or by phone at 202-205-0495.

— Release provided by USDA.

Despite Global Obstacles, U.S. Maintains Strong January Beef, Pork Exports

With key global markets experiencing sluggish consumer spending, volatile currencies and persistent economic uncertainty, many analysts have been predicting a downturn for U.S. beef and pork exports. January export results, however, defied those expectations as beef muscle cut exports jumped 13% in volume [43,949 metric tons, or 96.9 million pounds (lb.)] and 15% in value (to $186.5 million) compared to January 2008. Because beef variety meat exports declined in both volume and value, total beef plus beef variety meat exports were up 4% in value to $233 million, and essentially held even with January 2008 in terms of volume at 66,457 metric tons (146.5 million lb.). 

“The increase in beef muscle cut exports is very gratifying, especially in the face of so much economic uncertainty,” said U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Philip Seng. “Even with overseas consumers constricting their spending in many areas, they recognize the quality, consistency and affordable value delivered by U.S. beef. That is one of the main reasons USMEF is intensifying promotions in sectors with the greatest propensity for utilizing U.S. beef under adverse economic circumstances.”

Seng noted that with regard to both beef and pork, USMEF’s international teams have refocused their efforts on market niches that offer a more immediate return on investment — as opposed to some long-range educational programs — in order to help offset the projections for lower global protein consumption driven by the economic downturn.

Despite a decline in exports to both countries, Mexico and Canada remained the top two destinations for U.S. beef in January, combining to account for 56% of the value and 54% of the volume worldwide. South Korea, which was closed to U.S. beef during the first half of 2008, emerged as the third-largest market in January. Korea’s imports, valued at $27.6 million, were about 20% higher than its December 2008 total. Vietnam was the fourth-largest market in terms of volume (5,636 metric tons or 12.4 million lb.), and fifth-largest in terms of value at $19.9 million. In fact, Vietnam was the pacesetter for the ASEAN region as it set an all-time monthly record for U.S. beef exports.

Japan stood in fourth place for beef exports in terms of value ($21.8 million) and fifth place in terms of volume (4,069 metric tons or about 9 million lb.). This represents an increase of 27% in value and 31% in volume over January 2008.

“With all sectors of the U.S. beef industry working together, we’ve been successful in steadily increasing our beef market share in Japan,” Seng said. “This is critically important during this economic downturn. While Japan has economic struggles of its own, it has a very strong currency and a relatively high level of stability compared to many other global markets.”

Seng added that expanded market access in Japan remains a top priority for the beef industry, and that he considers the 20-month age limit on U.S. beef eligible for export to Japan a vital issue the countries must address as soon as possible.

— Adapted from a release provided by USMEF.

— compiled by Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, Angus Productions Inc.