Opinion & Contributed Articles
Central Valley Meat Company: USDA Did its Job, OK?
by Dr. Richard Raymond | Aug 27, 2012 Opinion
On August 19, 2012, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) ordered its
inspection staff at Central Valley Meat (CVM) to go home. Because the Federal
Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) of 1906 requires inspection by USDA to be continuous
during slaughter of cattle, this USDA action essentially shuttered the plant for
the time being.
This action at CVM has been well documented at Food Safety News and many
other electronic Ag and Meat journals. The reporting has been fair and complete,
but the discussions that have followed have been, at times, so inaccurate and
unfair that I have felt the need to respond in some detail.
I was at the USDA on February 1, 2008, when a similar action was taken at
Hallmark/Westland meats. There are similarities and there are differences, but
the role of the USDA was the same at both plants.
First, the similarities:
Undercover agents working at slaughter plants as undercover agents for the
Humane Society of the United States (Hallmark/Westland) and Compassion Over
Killing (CVM) used hidden cameras to film egregious inhumane handling of
cows.
Both animal rights groups have an agenda that includes preventing the
killing of animals for human consumption. This agenda can be moved forward with
disgustingly shocking videos, and by driving the cost of meat up by
necessitating changes in the slaughter and fabricating processes.
Both plants slaughtered a very large number of old, culled dairy cows and
sold beef to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
If you want to get the public's attention using video, you want to go to a
facility that slaughters old dairy cows and then sells the meat to the NSLP. As
opposed to 20-30 month old steers that have been content to eat grain in a
feedlot, these cows are often 10-12 years of age, and are often not in good
enough shape to handle a ride of even a few miles in hot weather.
They sometimes are sick, they always are old, and they often lay down to
rest and refuse to get up. And here lies the opportunity for video if the plant
is not impeccable in its handling of these non-ambulatory or "downer"
animals.
But on with the similarities:
Each plant had an inspection work force felt to be adequate to assure our
meat was safe. That work force would include on-line inspectors whose only
opportunity to observe inhumane handling would be coming to and going from work
plus break time, time which is officially their own, not the plant's or the
USDA's.
There might be one or two off-line inspectors with multiple
responsibilities.
There would also be a Public Health Veterinarian on duty. S/He is
responsible in most plants to observe animals in motion and at rest to screen
for Central Nervous System disorders such as BSE and other chronic disease
manifestations.
But this individual is also usually responsible for carcass by carcass
inspection after the hide has been pulled off. At Hallmark, this individual was
condemning about 20 carcasses per day to protect you and me.
You see, contrary to so many discussants' uninformed opinions, this person
cannot be in two places at once.
I compare the PHV to a State Trooper.
It is my job to obey the speed limit, it is the trooper's job to be a
presence at times that encourages me to not speed, not knowing when he will pop
up.
It is the plant's job to obey the Humane handling Act, and it is the PHV's
job to occasionally stroll through the pens to confirm the Act is being complied
with.
If the discussants calling for USDA employee's heads, and even the
Secretary's job, want 24/7 FSIS coverage, then go get the funding for it and
watch our taxes go up.
There was one major difference, so far, between CVM and Hallmark.
In 2008, if a cow had passed antemortem inspection by the PHV, in motion
and at rest, then decided to lie down and not get up, the plant could ask the
PHV to come out to the pen and examine the animal.
If a cause for the non-ambulatory condition could be determined, such as a
fractured leg or ruptured tendon, the animal could be euthanized on the spot and
then taken to the knock box.
In the Hallmark incident, there was irrefutable evidence that
non-ambulatory cattle entered the food supply without follow up inspection by
the PHV. Investigations confirmed this had been going on for over one year. Not
often, but on occasion.
This fact makes the meat "unfit" for consumption because rules were not
followed and proper inspection not completed.
We were criticized, but why have rules like the "downer rule" if they are
not a part of protection of the food supply?
The HSUS won on this count, because the USDA responded the next year by
completely banning all downers and non-ambulatory cattle from getting into the
food chain. Throwing away perfectly good meat is a waste, and drives up the cost
of our beef.
One slaughter plant out of 800 tried to cheat the system, and an entire
industry was taken to task.
The difference, so far, at CVM, is that although the video is despicable,
there is no evidence these mistreated animals ever got into the facility and the
food chain.
It is being said by bashers of the federal government that the USDA
overreacted at CVM. There is a law, passed by Congress and signed by the
President of the United States that says inhumane handling will not be tolerated
and FSIS is to suspend inspection when it is seen.
USDA/FSIS was simply following the law. You don't like it, change the law
but do not drag these federal employees over the coals for doing what they had
to do.
If any reader is interested, the transcript of my testimony in front of the
House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation of the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, regarding Hallmark/Westland and the Q and A that followed can be seen
online.
In closing, I expect Terry to add his two cents worth and I will point out
that the risk of variant CJD from eating US beef is as close to zero as we can
make it. There are many interlocking steps to keep us safe, including:
1. The ruminant to ruminant feed ban in effect for over a decade to protect
our herd.
2. The removal of Specified Risk Materials in the slaughter facilities
under the continuous and watchful eyes of FSIS Inspectors to protect human
health.
3. The observation by the PHVs of animals in motion.
4. No downers or non-ambulatory cattle allowed in the food chain, and
5. The USDA's ongoing surveillance of animals at high risk for BSE,
assuring us that the exposure risk is almost nil.
Image: Watering cattle and providing shelter are two important ways to help
keep them cooler and less stressed during heat waves. Photo by Keith Weller,
USDA, ARS, Photo Library.
© Food Safety News
OPINION REBUTTAL Terry
Greetings,
Well Dr. Raymond, since you called me out, I must respond Sir. Yes, our
children health and safety mean more to me than taxes.
Dr. Richard Raymond former Undersecretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department
of Agriculture (2005-2008) stated ;
“then go get the funding for it and watch our taxes go up.”
Dr. Richard Raymond former Undersecretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department
of Agriculture (2005-2008) stated ;
In closing, I expect Terry to add his two cents worth and I will point out
that the risk of variant CJD from eating US beef is as close to zero as we can
make it. There are many interlocking steps to keep us safe, including:
1. The ruminant to ruminant feed ban in effect for over a decade to protect
our herd.
2. The removal of Specified Risk Materials in the slaughter facilities
under the continuous and watchful eyes of FSIS Inspectors to protect human
health.
3. The observation by the PHVs of animals in motion.
4. No downers or non-ambulatory cattle allowed in the food chain, and
5. The USDA's ongoing surveillance of animals at high risk for BSE,
assuring us that the exposure risk is almost nil.
Image: Watering cattle and providing shelter are two important ways to help
keep them cooler and less stressed during heat waves. Photo by Keith Weller,
USDA, ARS, Photo Library.
© Food Safety News
Hello Dr. Raymond Sir,
Indeed I would like to comment on some of your fallacies Dr. Raymond.
Dr. Ramond stated in 1. that ;
1. The ruminant to ruminant feed ban in effect for over a decade to protect
our herd.
Sir, as late as 2007, one decade post partial and voluntary mad cow feed
ban, 10,000,000. pounds of banned prohibited blood laced meat and bone meal mad
cow feed went out into commerce, to be fed out. 2006 was a banner year as well
for suspect banned mad cow protein in commerce. “The ruminant to ruminant feed
ban in effect for over a decade to protect our herd.” that you state Sir, was
merely ink on paper for the past decade. You can see for yourself here, I have
listed some, but not all here ;
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Final Feed Investigation Summary - California BSE Case - July 2012
even more disturbing now ;
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Detection of PrPSc in peripheral tissues of clinically affected cattle
after oral challenge with BSE
more here;
Dr. Richard Raymond former Undersecretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department
of Agriculture (2005-2008) stated ;
2. The removal of Specified Risk Materials in the slaughter facilities
under the continuous and watchful eyes of FSIS Inspectors to protect human
health.
Dr. Raymond Sir, another ink on paper only phenomenon. please see the many
breaches on specified risk materials here ;
a few examples, one very recently, and the following link will list more
SRM breaches ;
2011
Ohio Department of Agriculture and Ohio Department of Health
Governor
John R. Kasich
Lieutenant Governor
Mary Taylor
ODA Director
James Zehringer
ODH Director
Theodore E. Wymyslo, M.D.
DT: July 14, 2011
TO: Health Commissioners, Directors of Environmental Health and Interested
Parties
RE: Recall Announcement (ODA/ODH) 2011-076
Valley Farm Meats (DBA Strasburg Provision, Inc) Issues Precautionary
Recall for Beef Products Due to Possible Contamination with Prohibited Materials
[STRASBURG, Ohio] – Valley Farm Meats (DBA Strasburg Provision, Inc) of
Strasburg, OH announces a voluntary recall of an unknown amount of beef products
that may contain the spinal cord and vertebral column, which are considered
specified risk materials (SRMs). SRMs must be removed from cattle over 30 months
of age in accordance with federal and state regulations. SRMs are tissues that
are known to contain the infective agent in cattle infected with Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), as well as materials that are closely
associated with these potentially infective tissues. Therefore, federal and
state regulations prohibit SRMs from use as human food to minimize potential
human exposure to the BSE agent.
North Dakota Firm Recalls Whole Beef Head Products That Contain Prohibited
Materials
Recall Release CLASS II RECALL FSIS-RC-023-2010 HEALTH RISK: LOW
Congressional and Public Affairs (202) 720-9113 Catherine Cochran
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2010 - North American Bison Co-Op, a New Rockford,
N.D., establishment is recalling approximately 25,000 pounds of whole beef heads
containing tongues that may not have had the tonsils completely removed, which
is not compliant with regulations that require the removal of tonsils from
cattle of all ages, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and
Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
Tonsils are considered a specified risk material (SRM) and must be removed
from cattle of all ages in accordance with FSIS regulations. SRMs are tissues
that are known to contain the infective agent in cattle infected with Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), as well as materials that are closely
associated with these potentially infective tissues. Therefore, FSIS prohibits
SRMs from use as human food to minimize potential human exposure to the BSE
agent.
Missouri Firm Recalls Cattle Heads That Contain Prohibited Materials
Recall Release CLASS II RECALL FSIS-RC-021-2008 HEALTH RISK: LOW
Congressional and Public Affairs (202) 720-9113 Amanda Eamich
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2008 – Paradise Locker Meats, a Trimble, Mo.,
establishment, is voluntarily recalling approximately 120 pounds of fresh cattle
heads with tonsils not completely removed, which is not compliant with
regulations that require the removal of tonsils from cattle of all ages, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced
today.
Tonsils are considered a specified risk material (SRM) and must be removed
from cattle of all ages in accordance with FSIS regulations. SRMs are tissues
that are known to contain the infective agent in cattle infected with BSE, as
well as materials that are closely associated with these potentially infective
tissues. Therefore, FSIS prohibits SRMs from use as human food to minimize
potential human exposure to the BSE agent.
see many more SRM breaches here ;
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Final Feed Investigation Summary - California BSE Case - July 2012
again, even more disturbing now ;
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Detection of PrPSc in peripheral tissues of clinically affected cattle
after oral challenge with BSE
Dr. Richard Raymond former Undersecretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department
of Agriculture (2005-2008) stated ;
3. The observation by the PHVs of animals in motion.
Sir, you stated yourself that Public Health Veterinarian ;
> But this individual is also usually responsible for carcass by carcass
inspection after the hide has been pulled off. At Hallmark, this individual was
condemning about 20 carcasses per day to protect you and me.
> You see, contrary to so many discussants' uninformed opinions, this
person cannot be in two places at once.
> It is the plant's job to obey the Humane handling Act, and it is the
PHV's job to occasionally stroll through the pens to confirm the Act is being
complied with.
> If the discussants calling for USDA employee's heads, and even the
Secretary's job, want 24/7 FSIS coverage, then go get the funding for it and
watch our taxes go up.
Sir, after the Hallmark debacle, and the fact that deadstock downer cows
did make it to the NSLP, and the fact of the National recall there from, I find
it disturbing still that there is NO recall of the meat, if any left, from the
Central Valley Meat company from last year. You Sir, nor anyone else, can
guarantee now that these type practices have not occurred last year, the year
before, and or the year before that at Central Valley Meat Co., and I think our
children, and the fact that ;
> > > Ackerman says downed cattle are 50 times more likely to have
mad cow disease (also known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or BSE) than
ambulatory cattle that are suspected of having BSE. Of the 20 confirmed cases of
mad cow disease in North America since 1993, at least 16 have involved downer
cattle, he said. < < <
I think our childrens safety from the Transmissible Spongiform
Encephalopathy TSE prion mad cow type disease, is much more important.
don’t forget the children...
PLEASE be aware, for 4 years, the USDA fed our children all across the
Nation (including TEXAS) dead stock downer cows, the most high risk cattle for
BSE aka mad cow disease and other dangerous pathogens. who will watch our
children for CJD for the next 5+ decades ???
WAS your child exposed to mad cow disease via the NSLP ???
HALLMARK DEBACLE HERE WITH DOWNERS AND OUR CHILDREN VIA THE USDA AND THE
NSLP.
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM FROM DOWNER CATTLE UPDATE
DID YOUR CHILD CONSUME SOME OF THESE DEAD STOCK DOWNER COWS, THE MOST HIGH
RISK FOR MAD COW DISEASE ???
this recall was not for the welfare of the animals. ...tss
you can check and see here ;
Dr. Richard Raymond former Undersecretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department
of Agriculture (2005-2008) stated ;
4. No downers or non-ambulatory cattle allowed in the food chain, and
Sir, this the be now, if your not caught at it. that’s why some want the
undercover videos banned. Also, I still think that prisoners are humans, and
they are being fed pet food in some instances. could this happen with the NSLP
??? let’s hope not, but in the past, during the infamous enhanced BSE
surveillance program, there was gentleman supplying the USDA, with PERFECTLY
HEALTHY CATTLE BRAINS FOR TESTING, brains that he knew were free from mad cow
disease. your system is far from perfect, in fact, it’s an imperfect system. it
has been shown to have flaws, major flaws time and time again by the GAO and
OIG, and others. these are the facts.
see Texas prisoners being fed pet food here;
Dr. Richard Raymond former Undersecretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department
of Agriculture (2005-2008) stated ;
5. The USDA's ongoing surveillance of animals at high risk for BSE,
assuring us that the exposure risk is almost nil.
I kindly disagree Sir, and so does the OIE. That’s why the USA is still
classified as BSE GBR risk factor of 3. there are many flaws Sir, and because of
the fact of still feeding cows to cows via banned suspect BSE feed as late as
2007, millions and millions of pounds, and the most recent atypical L-type BASE
BSE in California in 2012, I think the USA BSE GBR risk factor should be raised
to BSE GBR 4.
NOW, what about that mad cow BSE surveillance and testing program ???
PAUL BROWN COMMENT TO ME ON THIS ISSUE
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 11:10 AM
"Actually, Terry, I have been critical of the USDA handling of the mad cow
issue for some years, and with Linda Detwiler and others sent lengthy detailed
critiques and recommendations to both the USDA and the Canadian Food Agency."
OR, what the Honorable Phyllis Fong of the OIG found ;
Audit Report
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Surveillance Program – Phase II
and
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Controls Over BSE Sampling, Specified Risk Materials, and Advanced Meat
Recovery Products - Phase III
Report No. 50601-10-KC January 2006
Finding 2 Inherent Challenges in Identifying and Testing High-Risk Cattle
Still Remain
""These 9,200 cases were different because brain tissue samples were
preserved with formalin, which makes them suitable for only one type of
test--immunohistochemistry, or IHC."
THIS WAS DONE FOR A REASON!
THE IHC test has been proven to be the LEAST LIKELY to detect BSE/TSE in
the bovine, and these were probably from the most high risk cattle pool, the
ones the USDA et al, SHOULD have been testing. ...TSS
USDA 2003
We have to be careful that we don't get so set in the way we do things that
we forget to look for different emerging variations of disease. We've gotten
away from collecting the whole brain in our systems. We're using the brain stem
and we're looking in only one area. In Norway, they were doing a project and
looking at cases of Scrapie, and they found this where they did not find lesions
or PRP in the area of the obex. They found it in the cerebellum and the
cerebrum. It's a good lesson for us. Ames had to go back and change the
procedure for looking at Scrapie samples. In the USDA, we had routinely looked
at all the sections of the brain, and then we got away from it. They've recently
gone back. Dr. Keller: Tissues are routinely tested, based on which tissue
provides an 'official' test result as recognized by APHIS.
Dr. Detwiler: That's on the slaughter. But on the clinical cases, aren't
they still asking for the brain? But even on the slaughter, they're looking only
at the brainstem. We may be missing certain things if we confine ourselves to
one area.
snip.............
Dr. Detwiler: It seems a good idea, but I'm not aware of it. Another
important thing to get across to the public is that the negatives do not
guarantee absence of infectivity. The animal could be early in the disease and
the incubation period. Even sample collection is so important. If you're not
collecting the right area of the brain in sheep, or if collecting
lymphoreticular tissue, and you don't get a good biopsy, you could miss the area
with the PRP in it and come up with a negative test. There's a new, unusual form
of Scrapie that's been detected in Norway. We have to be careful that we don't
get so set in the way we do things that we forget to look for different emerging
variations of disease. We've gotten away from collecting the whole brain in our
systems. We're using the brain stem and we're looking in only one area. In
Norway, they were doing a project and looking at cases of Scrapie, and they
found this where they did not find lesions or PRP in the area of the obex. They
found it in the cerebellum and the cerebrum. It's a good lesson for us. Ames had
to go back and change the procedure for looking at Scrapie samples. In the USDA,
we had routinely looked at all the sections of the brain, and then we got away
from it. They've recently gone back.
Dr. Keller: Tissues are routinely tested, based on which tissue provides an
'official' test result as recognized by APHIS .
Dr. Detwiler: That's on the slaughter. But on the clinical cases, aren't
they still asking for the brain? But even on the slaughter, they're looking only
at the brainstem. We may be missing certain things if we confine ourselves to
one area.
snip...
FULL TEXT;
Completely Edited Version PRION ROUNDTABLE
Accomplished this day, Wednesday, December 11, 2003, Denver, Colorado
2005
FINAL REPORT 2ND TEXAS MAD COW
Subject: USDA OIG SEMIANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS FY 2007 1st Half (bogus BSE
sampling FROM HEALTHY USDA CATTLE) Date: June 21, 2007 at 2:49 pm PST
Owner and Corporation Plead Guilty to Defrauding Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) Surveillance Program
An Arizona meat processing company and its owner pled guilty in February
2007 to charges of theft of Government funds, mail fraud, and wire fraud. The
owner and his company defrauded the BSE Surveillance Program when they falsified
BSE Surveillance Data Collection Forms and then submitted payment requests to
USDA for the services. In addition to the targeted sample population (those
cattle that were more than 30 months old or had other risk factors for BSE), the
owner submitted to USDA, or caused to be submitted, BSE obex (brain stem)
samples from healthy USDA-inspected cattle. As a result, the owner fraudulently
received approximately $390,000. Sentencing is scheduled for May 2007.
snip...
Topics that will be covered in ongoing or planned reviews under Goal 1
include:
soundness of BSE maintenance sampling (APHIS),
implementation of Performance-Based Inspection System enhancements for
specified risk material (SRM) violations and improved inspection controls over
SRMs (FSIS and APHIS),
snip...
The findings and recommendations from these efforts will be covered in
future semiannual reports as the relevant audits and investigations are
completed.
4 USDA OIG SEMIANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS FY 2007 1st Half
-MORE Office of the United States Attorney District of Arizona FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE For Information Contact Public Affairs February 16, 2007 WYN
HORNBUCKLE Telephone: (602) 514-7625 Cell: (602) 525-2681
CORPORATION AND ITS PRESIDENT PLEAD GUILTY TO DEFRAUDING GOVERNMENT’S MAD
COW DISEASE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM
PHOENIX -- Farm Fresh Meats, Inc. and Roland Emerson Farabee, 55, of
Maricopa, Arizona, pleaded guilty to stealing $390,000 in government funds, mail
fraud and wire fraud, in federal district court in Phoenix. U.S. Attorney Daniel
Knauss stated, “The integrity of the system that tests for mad cow disease
relies upon the honest cooperation of enterprises like Farm Fresh Meats. Without
that honest cooperation, consumers both in the U.S. and internationally are at
risk. We want to thank the USDA’s Office of Inspector General for their
continuing efforts to safeguard the public health and enforce the law.” Farm
Fresh Meats and Farabee were charged by Information with theft of government
funds, mail fraud and wire fraud. According to the Information, on June 7, 2004,
Farabee, on behalf of Farm Fresh Meats, signed a contract with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (the “USDA Agreement”) to collect obex samples from
cattle at high risk of mad cow disease (the “Targeted Cattle Population”). The
Targeted Cattle Population consisted of the following cattle: cattle over thirty
months of age; nonambulatory cattle; cattle exhibiting signs of central nervous
system disorders; cattle exhibiting signs of mad cow disease; and dead cattle.
Pursuant to the USDA Agreement, the USDA agreed to pay Farm Fresh Meats $150 per
obex sample for collecting obex samples from cattle within the Targeted Cattle
Population, and submitting the obex samples to a USDA laboratory for mad cow
disease testing. Farm Fresh Meats further agreed to maintain in cold storage the
sampled cattle carcasses and heads until the test results were received by Farm
Fresh Meats.
Evidence uncovered during the government’s investigation established that
Farm Fresh Meats and Farabee submitted samples from cattle outside the Targeted
Cattle Population. Specifically, Farm Fresh Meats and Farabee submitted, or
caused to be submitted, obex samples from healthy, USDA inspected cattle, in
order to steal government moneys.
Evidence collected also demonstrated that Farm Fresh Meats and Farabee
failed to maintain cattle carcasses and heads pending test results and falsified
corporate books and records to conceal their malfeasance. Such actions, to the
extent an obex sample tested positive (fortunately, none did), could have
jeopardized the USDA’s ability to identify the diseased animal and pinpoint its
place of origin. On Wednesday, February 14, 2007, Farm Fresh Meats and Farabee
pleaded guilty to stealing government funds and using the mails and wires to
effect the scheme. According to their guilty pleas:
(a) Farm Fresh Meats collected, and Farabee directed others to collect,
obex samples from cattle outside the Targeted Cattle Population, which were not
subject to payment by the USDA;
(b) Farm Fresh Meats 2 and Farabee caused to be submitted payment requests
to the USDA knowing that the requests were based on obex samples that were not
subject to payment under the USDA Agreement;
(c) Farm Fresh Meats completed and submitted, and Farabee directed others
to complete and submit, BSE Surveillance Data Collection Forms to the USDA’s
testing laboratory that were false and misleading;
(d) Farm Fresh Meats completed and submitted, and Farabee directed others
to complete and submit, BSE Surveillance Submission Forms filed with the USDA
that were false and misleading;
(e) Farm Fresh Meats falsified, and Farabee directed others to falsify,
internal Farm Fresh Meats documents to conceal the fact that Farm Fresh Meats
was seeking and obtaining payment from the USDA for obex samples obtained from
cattle outside the Targeted Cattle Population; and
(f) Farm Fresh Meats failed to comply with, and Farabee directed others to
fail to comply with, the USDA Agreement by discarding cattle carcasses and heads
prior to receiving BSE test results. A conviction for theft of government funds
carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. Mail fraud and wire fraud
convictions carry a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment. Convictions for
the above referenced violations also carry a maximum fine of $250,000 for
individuals and $500,000 for organizations. In determining an actual sentence,
Judge Earl H. Carroll will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide
appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those
guidelines in determining a sentence.
Sentencing is set before Judge Earl H. Carroll on May 14, 2007. The
investigation in this case was conducted by Assistant Special Agent in Charge
Alejandro Quintero, United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector
General. The prosecution is being handled by Robert Long, Assistant U.S.
Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix. CASE NUMBER: CR-07-00160-PHX-EHC RELEASE
NUMBER: 2007-051(Farabee) # # #
Section 2. Testing Protocols and Quality Assurance Controls
In November 2004, USDA announced that its rapid screening test, Bio-Rad
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), produced an inconclusive BSE test
result as part of its enhanced BSE surveillance program. The ELISA rapid
screening test performed at a BSE contract laboratory produced three high
positive reactive results.40 As required,41 the contract laboratory forwarded
the inconclusive sample to the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories
(NVSL) for confirmatory testing. NVSL repeated the ELISA testing and again
produced three high positive reactive results.42 In accordance with its
established protocol, NVSL ran its confirmatory test, an immunohistochemistry
(IHC) test, which was interpreted as negative for BSE. In addition, NVSL
performed a histological43 examination of the tissue and did not detect
lesions44 consistent with BSE.
Faced with conflicting results, NVSL scientists recommended additional
testing to resolve the discrepancy but APHIS headquarters officials concluded no
further testing was necessary because testing protocols were followed. In our
discussions with APHIS officials, they justified their decision not to do
additional testing because the IHC is internationally recognized as the "gold
standard." Also, they believed that conducting additional tests would undermine
confidence in USDA’s established testing protocols.
FDA STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 4, 2004 Media Inquiries:
301-827-6242 Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
Statement on Texas Cow With Central Nervous System Symptoms
On Friday, April 30th, the Food and Drug Administration learned that a cow
with central nervous system symptoms had been killed and shipped to a processor
for rendering into animal protein for use in animal feed.
FDA, which is responsible for the safety of animal feed, immediately began
an investigation. On Friday and throughout the weekend, FDA investigators
inspected the slaughterhouse, the rendering facility, the farm where the animal
came from, and the processor that initially received the cow from the
slaughterhouse.
FDA's investigation showed that the animal in question had already been
rendered into "meat and bone meal" (a type of protein animal feed). Over the
weekend FDA was able to track down all the implicated material. That material is
being held by the firm, which is cooperating fully with FDA.
Cattle with central nervous system symptoms are of particular interest
because cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE, also known as "mad
cow disease," can exhibit such symptoms. In this case, there is no way now to
test for BSE. But even if the cow had BSE, FDA's animal feed rule would prohibit
the feeding of its rendered protein to other ruminant animals (e.g., cows,
goats, sheep, bison).
FDA is sending a letter to the firm summarizing its findings and informing
the firm that FDA will not object to use of this material in swine feed only. If
it is not used in swine feed, this material will be destroyed. Pigs have been
shown not to be susceptible to BSE. If the firm agrees to use the material for
swine feed only, FDA will track the material all the way through the supply
chain from the processor to the farm to ensure that the feed is properly
monitored and used only as feed for pigs.
To protect the U.S. against BSE, FDA works to keep certain mammalian
protein out of animal feed for cattle and other ruminant animals. FDA
established its animal feed rule in 1997 after the BSE epidemic in the U.K.
showed that the disease spreads by feeding infected ruminant protein to cattle.
Under the current regulation, the material from this Texas cow is not
allowed in feed for cattle or other ruminant animals. FDA's action specifying
that the material go only into swine feed means also that it will not be fed to
poultry.
FDA is committed to protecting the U.S. from BSE and collaborates closely
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on all BSE issues. The animal feed rule
provides crucial protection against the spread of BSE, but it is only one of
several such firewalls. FDA will soon be improving the animal feed rule, to make
this strong system even stronger.
#
SEE FULL TEXT OF ALL THIS HERE ;
Dr. Richard Raymond former Undersecretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department
of Agriculture (2005-2008) stated ;
“In closing, I expect Terry to add his two cents worth and I will point out
that the risk of variant CJD from eating US beef is as close to zero as we can
make it. “
Dr. Raymond Sir, it is not vCJD we will find here from the atypical TSE
growing in the many different species here in the USA and North America. Science
that has been out for several years now shows that some cases of sporadic CJD
can be linked to the atypical BSE. In fact Sir, atypical Scrapie shows many
similarities with human TSE prion disease. please see ;
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Seven main threats for the future linked to prions
First threat
The TSE road map defining the evolution of European policy for protection
against prion diseases is based on a certain numbers of hypotheses some of which
may turn out to be erroneous. In particular, a form of BSE (called atypical
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy), recently identified by systematic testing in
aged cattle without clinical signs, may be the origin of classical BSE and thus
potentially constitute a reservoir, which may be impossible to eradicate if a
sporadic origin is confirmed. ***Also, a link is suspected between atypical BSE
and some apparently sporadic cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. These
atypical BSE cases constitute an unforeseen first threat that could sharply
modify the European approach to prion diseases.
Second threat
snip...
EFSA Journal 2011 The European Response to BSE: A Success Story
This is an interesting editorial about the Mad Cow Disease debacle, and
it's ramifications that will continue to play out for decades to come ;
Monday, October 10, 2011
EFSA Journal 2011 The European Response to BSE: A Success Story
snip...
EFSA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
recently delivered a scientific opinion on any possible epidemiological or
molecular association between TSEs in animals and humans (EFSA Panel on
Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) and ECDC, 2011). This opinion confirmed Classical
BSE prions as the only TSE agents demonstrated to be zoonotic so far but the
possibility that a small proportion of human cases so far classified as
"sporadic" CJD are of zoonotic origin could not be excluded. Moreover,
transmission experiments to non-human primates suggest that some TSE agents in
addition to Classical BSE prions in cattle (namely L-type Atypical BSE,
Classical BSE in sheep, transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME) and chronic
wasting disease (CWD) agents) might have zoonotic potential.
snip...
see follow-up here about North America BSE Mad Cow TSE prion risk factors,
and the ever emerging strains of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy in many
species here in the USA, including humans ;
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Are USDA assurances on mad cow case 'gross oversimplification'?
SNIP...
What irks many scientists is the USDA’s April 25 statement that the rare
disease is “not generally associated with an animal consuming infected
feed.”
The USDA’s conclusion is a “gross oversimplification,” said Dr. Paul Brown,
one of the world’s experts on this type of disease who retired recently from the
National Institutes of Health. "(The agency) has no foundation on which to base
that statement.”
“We can’t say it’s not feed related,” agreed Dr. Linda Detwiler, an
official with the USDA during the Clinton Administration now at Mississippi
State.
In the May 1 email to me, USDA’s Cole backed off a bit. “No one knows the
origins of atypical cases of BSE,” she said
The argument about feed is critical because if feed is the cause, not a
spontaneous mutation, the California cow could be part of a larger outbreak.
SNIP...
Monday, August 6, 2012
TAFS BSE in USA August 6, 2012
BSE in USA
Monday, August 06, 2012
Atypical neuropathological sCJD-MM phenotype with abundant white matter
Kuru-type plaques sparing the cerebellar cortex
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Behavioural and Psychiatric Features of the Human Prion Diseases:
Experience in 368 Prospectively Studied Patients
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease Human TSE report update North America, Canada,
Mexico, and USDA PRION UNIT as of May 18, 2012
type determination pending Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (tdpCJD), is on the
rise in Canada and the USA
Friday, August 24, 2012
Iatrogenic prion diseases in humans: an update
Monday, July 23, 2012
The National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center July 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
CASE REPORTS CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE: AN UNDER-RECOGNIZED CAUSE OF
DEMENTIA
Dr. Richard Raymond former Undersecretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department
of Agriculture (2005-2008) stated ;
In closing, I expect Terry to add his two cents worth and I will point out
that the risk of variant CJD from eating US beef is as close to zero as we can
make it.
Dr. Raymond Sir, I disagree with you, I think that you (USDA et al) could
do much better.
I think our children and the consumer deserves better, and I don’t care how
much taxes AND BSE TSE TESTING, it takes to make our food safe. ...
layperson
I lost my mother to the Heidenhain Variant of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease
confirmed on December 14, 1997.
my neighbor lost his mother exactly one year previously to the sporadic CJD
strains confirmed, on December 14, 1996.
sporadic Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease is NOT a single strain, but multiple
strains (with new type pending classifications CJD, of unknown origin, in young
and old in the USA),
with route and source unknown to date.
just made a promise, all facts should be presented, not just the industry
fed political science fed facts. ...
kind regards,
terry
Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
P.O. Box 42
Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
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