Recalled beef from Chino slaughterhouse was used in 466 food products
10:05 PM PDT on Wednesday, March 19, 2008
By JANET ZIMMERMAN
The Press-Enterprise
PDF: Businesses that may have received the meat
http://www.pe.com/multimedia/pdf/2008/WestlandRecallConsolidatedRetailDistributionforWeb3-18-08.pdf
PDF: Recalled products
http://www.pe.com/multimedia/pdf/2008/AdditionalProductsContainingWestlandRecalledBeef03-14-08.pdf
From Slim Jim jerky and Jenny Craig meatloaf to Farmer John salami and Kids Cuisine frozen tacos, the list of products containing recalled meat from the now-closed Chino slaughterhouse continues to grow.
The California Department of Public Health now lists 466 types of foods sold to markets, restaurants, grocery chains, catering businesses, workplace cafeterias and other food services. The state expects the list to get longer, department spokeswoman Lea Brooks said.
"We're identifying more products in which the recalled beef was an ingredient," she said.
When the list debuted in late February, it contained products from three manufacturers. Now there are 16. The recall may not involve entire product lines. The links to affected lot numbers and retail distributors are listed on the California Department of Public Health Web site: www.cdph.ca.gov
Also growing is the list of California restaurants, markets and other retailers that may have received some of the 143 million pounds of beef from Westland/Hallmark Meat Co.
The recall, the largest beef recall in U.S. history, was triggered by an undercover video shot by the Humane Society of the United States showing employees at the plant abusing cattle and violating federal slaughter rules.
Still at issue is who will pay for the losses. Industry experts have said the value of the affected foods could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
Westland/Hallmark President Steve Mendell testified before a congressional subcommittee last week that his company is broke and won't be able to reimburse distributors or the many schools that received his meat products through the National School Lunch Program.
The recall, which covered meat from cattle slaughtered at the plant between Feb. 1, 2006, and Feb. 2, 2008, is a class II recall, which means the chance of getting sick from the meat is remote.
In Riverside County, one restaurant was found to have some recalled meat. None has been found by public health officials in San Bernardino County, and the chances lessen as time passes, they said. Most has been consumed, destroyed or returned to the manufacturer, said Steve Van Slocum, Riverside County's deputy director of environmental health on Wednesday.
As recently as last week, Ralphs and Food 4 Less, which have 400 stores in Southern California, were removing items from shelves, said Terry O'Neill, the chains' spokesman. The stores don't carry all items on the list, and O'Neill couldn't say which ones were pulled.
"The recall is so vast," he said.
The products are being immediately removed from shelves based on notification from the manufacturer or the grocery chain's parent company, Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., and being destroyed or held for return, he said
O'Neill said all customers will be reimbursed for products that are on the list or that they are worried may be affected.
On Wednesday, three restaurants were removed from the list of retailers in the state -- which grew from 5,000 to 7,900 in the past three weeks. But some distributors turned over names of all their customers, so the state's list included some stores and restaurants that never received recalled meat.
In all, six restaurants have been deleted from the list: P.H. Wood's Brewery in Moreno Valley, the Yellow Basket restaurants in Temecula and Santa Ana, and three others in Orange County.
P.H. Wood's received a small amount of the meat from supplier American Meats in 2002. It was probably a sample, said Scott Diehl, the brewery's general manager and part owner.
A couple of customers notified him that he was on the list, and it took about a week to get the documentation, mostly letters from his suppliers of six years, to prove he wasn't receiving meat from Westland/Hallmark, Diehl said.
"The frustrating thing is having that bad name of being on the list," he said. "It looks like (the distributor) gave a blanket list."
Reach Janet Zimmerman at 951-368-9586 or jzimmerman@PE.com
http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_D_recall20.3cf1153.html
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS HALLMARK/WESTLAND MEAT PACKING CO.
March 6, 2008
Consumer Concerns
Q. My child/school recently consumed Hallmark/Westland products. What is the
risk to children's health?
snip...
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
Our prior report identified a number of inherent problems in identifying and testing high-risk cattle. We reported that the challenges in identifying the universe of high-risk cattle, as well as the need to design procedures to obtain an appropriate representation of samples, was critical to the success of the BSE surveillance program. The surveillance program was designed to target nonambulatory cattle, cattle showing signs of CNS disease (including cattle testing negative for rabies), cattle showing signs not inconsistent with BSE, and dead cattle. Although APHIS designed procedures to ensure FSIS condemned cattle were sampled and made a concerted effort for outreach to obtain targeted samples, industry practices not considered in the design of the surveillance program reduced assurance that targeted animals were tested for BSE.
snip...
Inherent Limitations in Identifying and Testing High-Risk Cattle APHIS obtained significantly more samples for testing than they originally anticipated would be needed to achieve its stated level of confidence in estimating the prevalence of BSE in the U.S. herd. Because of the voluntary nature of its program, however, we could not determine how successful APHIS was in obtaining a representative proportion of high-risk cattle for testing. Our prior report recognized the significant challenges for APHIS to obtain samples from the high-risk population because of the inherent problems with obtaining voluntary compliance and transporting carcasses for testing. APHIS took steps to obtain facilitated pathways, by entering into over 100 agreements, to collect and test brain samples for BSE. However, using USDA published data that estimates the distribution of the cattle population, as well as those that died or became nonambulatory, we could not determine whether APHIS achieved either geographical representation or representation of the desired surveillance stream (clinical suspects, fallen stock, casualty slaughter fallen stock, and routine slaughter). Findings 1 and 2 present the conditions noted that impact this evaluation. USDA Testing Protocols and Quality Assurance Procedures In November 2004, USDA announced that its rapid screening test produced an inconclusive BSE test result. A contract laboratory ran its rapid screening test on a brain sample collected for testing and produced three high positive reactive results. As required, the contract laboratory forwarded the inconclusive sample to APHIS’ National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) for confirmation. NVSL repeated the rapid screening test, which again produced three high positive reactive results. Following established protocol, NVSL ran its confirmatory test, an immunohistochemistry (IHC) test, which was interpreted as negative for BSE. Faced with conflicting results between the rapid screening and IHC tests, NVSL scientists recommended additional testing to resolve the discrepancy but APHIS headquarters officials concluded that no further testing was necessary since testing protocols were followed and the confirmatory test was negative. In our discussions with APHIS officials, they justified their decision to not do additional testing because the IHC test is internationally recognized as the “gold standard” of testing. Also, they believed that
conducting additional tests would undermine confidence in USDA’s testing protocols. OIG obtained evidence that indicated additional testing was prudent. We came to this conclusion because the rapid screening tests produced six high positive reactive results, the IHC tests conflicted, and various standard operating procedures were not followed. Also, our review of the relevant scientific literature, other countries’ protocols, and discussions with experts led us to conclude that additional confirmatory testing should be considered in the event of conflicting test results. To maintain objectivity and independence, we requested that USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) perform the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) Scrapie-Associated Fibrils (SAF) immunoblot test. The additional testing produced positive results. To confirm, the Secretary of Agriculture requested that an internationally recognized BSE laboratory in Weybridge, England (Weybridge) perform additional testing. Weybridge conducted various tests, including their own IHC tests and three Western blot tests. The tests confirmed that the cow was infected with BSE. The Secretary immediately directed USDA scientists to work with international experts to develop new protocols that include performing dual confirmatory tests in the event of an inconclusive BSE screening test. We attribute the failure to identify the BSE positive sample to rigid protocols, as well as the lack of adequate quality assurance controls over its testing program. Details of our concerns are discussed in Findings 3 and 4.
snip...
Controls (Firewalls) to Prevent BSE in the Food Supply USDA instituted proactive procedures to prevent tissues and products that could possibly contain the infective agent for BSE from entering the food supply. FSIS performs inspections on cattle before slaughter (ante mortem) to observe clinical signs that may indicate a central nervous system disorder or other signs that may be associated with BSE. Such animals are condemned and prohibited from slaughter for human consumption. FSIS also identified high-risk beef tissue and products as SRMs, and banned them from the food supply. FSIS inspects slaughter processes to verify that slaughterhouses have incorporated controls for handling SRMs into their operational plans; adequate procedures must be in place for removing, segregating, and disposing of SRMs. OIG reviewed the SRM plans of several establishments, observed FSIS inspection procedures, and evaluated the effectiveness of controls during the slaughter process. We did not identify SRMs entering the food supply. However, due to the lack of adequate records, we could not determine whether SRM procedures were followed and/or were adequate in 9 of
12 establishments visited during the audit. There is no requirement in the United States for the age of animals to be recorded, therefore, APHIS and FSIS rely on meat establishments to determine the age of cattle slaughtered using documentation or dentition. SRM restrictions apply predominantly to cattle 30 months of age or older. FSIS periodically checks the accuracy of age determinations through dentition; however, we could not determine how often these checks are made. We found that improvements can be made in the following areas. • FSIS approved an alternate ante mortem inspection procedure that limited the number of cattle subject to inspection. FSIS discontinued this procedure during the audit. • FSIS does not have an information system capable of readily identifying the scope of, and trends in, noncompliance violations relating to SRMs. • Most of the establishments reviewed did not have adequate SRM plans, and FSIS did not always identify these deficiencies. • Several of the establishments did not comply with their SRM plans and/or maintain records to support that they follow their plans. FSIS has addressed the specific cases of noncompliance identified during the audit. Findings
snip...
Downers and Cattle that Died on the Farm
Our prior audit recognized the significant challenge for APHIS to obtain samples from some high-risk populations because of the inherent problems with obtaining voluntary compliance and transporting the carcasses for testing. USDA issued rules to prohibit nonambulatory animals (downers) from entering the food supply at inspected slaughterhouses. OIG recommended, and the International Review Subcommittee33 emphasized, that USDA should take additional steps to assure that facilitated pathways exist for dead and nonambulatory cattle to allow for the collection of samples and proper disposal of carcasses. Between June 1, 2004, and May 31, 2005, the APHIS database documents 27,617 samples were collected showing a reason for submission of nonambulatory and 325,225 samples were collected with reason of submission showing “dead.”
snip...
We also disagree with APHIS/FSIS’ contention that because they have tested over 375,000 of their 446,000 estimate of high risk cattle, few in the high-risk population are being missed, including those that might be pre-screened before entering a slaughter facility’s property. In our prior audit, we reported that APHIS underestimated the high-risk population; we found that this estimate should have been closer to 1 million animals (see Finding 1).
snip...
The policy stated in the preamble to 9 CFR 309.2(b)104 states that FSIS has excluded all nonambulatory disabled cattle from the human food supply, regardless of the reason for their nonambulatory status or the time at which they became nonambulatory (emphasis added). If an animal becomes nonambulatory in route to the establishment due to an acute injury, it must be humanely removed from the truck, humanely euthanized, and the carcass properly disposed of. Likewise, cattle that become nonambulatory on the establishment premises, such as an animal that breaks its leg as it is unloaded from the truck, are also required to be humanely moved, humanely euthanized, and the carcass disposed of properly. However, an FSIS notice105 states that if cattle are ambulatory at ante mortem inspection and become nonambulatory disabled prior to slaughter, the VMO should verify that the animal suffered an acute injury and allow the animal to proceed to slaughter and post mortem inspection. FSIS would expect such situations to be extremely rare because cattle, when handled and moved under proper humane handling conditions, should not be injured while being moved in pens. For cattle that become nonambulatory disabled after ante
mortem inspection, if the VMO cannot determine that a specific, acute injury occurred that caused the animal to become nonambulatory disabled, the animal is to be condemned and cannot enter the slaughter establishment. There appears to be inconsistent USDA policies related to slaughtering downers/nonambulatory cattle. Regarding animals for slaughter, it is clear that downers will not be slaughtered. In fact, one report106 states: “The U.S. Policy is to condemn all cattle that are nonambulatory or disabled when presented for slaughter." The Department has widely publicized that one of the firewalls put in place to prevent the spread of BSE is the prevention of downers from entering the food supply. Our review at the 12 plants visited showed the following variations in application of the policy for condemning or passing nonambulatory cattle for slaughter.
This was the only documentation of the condition of the cattle available at the plants. Plant inspection personnel believed that FSIS Notice 5-04 allowed the slaughter of nonambulatory cattle if the cattle had passed ante mortem inspection and then went down as the result of an acute injury. Therefore, they had allowed the plant to slaughter these cattle for human consumption. We observed use of a forklift and a rail above the pens to transport nonambulatory cattle to the slaughter area.
snip...see full text 130 pages ;
http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/50601-10-KC.pdf
snip...
Science 23 November 2001:
Vol. 294. no. 5547, pp. 1726 - 1728
DOI: 10.1126/science.1066838
Reports
Estimation of Epidemic Size and Incubation Time Based on Age Characteristics
of vCJD in the United Kingdom
Alain-Jacques Valleron,1 Pierre-Yves Boelle,1 Robert Will,2 Jean-Yves
Cesbron3
SNIP...
The distribution of the vCJD incubation period that best fits the data within the framework of our model has a mean of 16.7 years, with a standard deviation of 2.6 years. The 95% upper percentile of this distribution is 21.4 years. The 95% confidence interval (CI) of the estimates of the mean and standard deviation is relatively narrow: The 95% CI for the estimate of the mean incubation period is 12.4 to 23.2 years, and the 95% CI of the standard deviation is 0.9 to 8 years (10). The decrease in susceptibility to infection in exposed subjects older than 15 years, as estimated from the parameter , was found to be very sharp: 16% per year of age (CI: 12 to 23%). This means that, under the best fitting hypothesis, an individual aged 20 years in 1981 had 55% less risk of becoming infected than a child aged 15 years (99.9% for an individual aged 70).
http://www.sciencemag.org/
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/usda-questions-and-answers.html
SPECIFIED RISK MATERIALS
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html
March 16, 2008
MAD COW DISEASE terminology UK c-BSE (typical), atypical BSE H or L, and or
Italian L-BASE
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2008/03/mad-cow-disease-terminology-uk-c-bse.html
Communicated by: Terry S. Singeltary Sr.
[In submitting these data, Terry S. Singeltary Sr. draws attention to the steady increase in the "type unknown" category, which, according to their definition, comprises cases in which vCJD could be excluded. The total of 26 cases for the current year (2007) is disturbing, possibly symptomatic of the circulation of novel agents. Characterization of these agents should be given a high priority. - Mod.CP]
[see also:
snip...
************************************************************
Become a ProMED-mail Premium Subscriber at
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Visit ProMED-mail's web site at .
http://pro-med.blogspot.com/2007/11/proahedr-prion-disease-update-2007-07.html
SEE STEADY INCREASE IN SPORADIC CJD IN THE USA FROM
1997 TO 2006. SPORADIC CJD CASES TRIPLED, with phenotype
of 'UNKNOWN' strain growing. ...
http://www.cjdsurveillance.com/resources-casereport.html
There is a growing number of human CJD cases, and they were presented last week in San Francisco by Luigi Gambatti(?) from his CJD surveillance collection.
He estimates that it may be up to 14 or 15 persons which display selectively SPRPSC and practically no detected RPRPSC proteins.
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/06/transcripts/1006-4240t1.htm
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/06/transcripts/2006-4240t1.pdf
TSS
Friday, March 21, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
MAD COW DISEASE typical vs atypical terminology
Sunday, March 16, 2008
MAD COW DISEASE terminology UK c-BSE (typical), atypical BSE H or L, and or Italian L-BASE
Greetings,
I thought i might try and sort things out about this a bit. Some folks seem to be a bit confused,(confusious included has been confused a time or two to be sure). but i think some clarification needs to be done. you can interpret it the way you want. i have my opinions on why i interpret the science one way, you may have yours. here goes ;
WE first heard of the atypical called BASE Bovine Amyloidotic Spongiform Encephalopathy (Italy), and it was said then that the molecular signature of this previously undescribed bovine PrPSc was similar to that encountered in a distinct subtype of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The Italian BASE Bovine Amyloidotic Spongiform Encephalopathy termed that due to the 'amyloid plaques'.
THIS is where i start to have problems with the term. if you will recall, the first ten nvCJD in young adolescents, 'amyloid plaques' were used then to differentiate between the sporadic CJDs and nvCJD, UNTIL the 'amyloid plaques' stared showing up in some sporadic CJDs. now (10%) amyloid deposits, called prion protein (PrP) amyloid plaques, may be observed in sporadic CJD.
ALSO, with the BASE, you will find that some want to hypothesize that the BASE is just BSE in older cattle.
well, if that was the case, then would not sporadic CJD be just nvCJD in old people?
ALSO, it was said that nvCJD was only in the young. this too was part of a diagnostic criteria to differentiate between the nvCJD and sporadic CJDs, until sCJD started showing up in young adolescents.
ALSO, it was said that only the nvCJD have long incubation period, this too was part of diagnostic criteria to differentiate between the nvCJD and sporadic CJDs, until the long incubation started showing up in some sporadic CJDs.
ALSO, it was said that on the nvCJD victims had psychological mental symptoms, not the sporadic CJDs, that too until the psychological and mental symptoms started showing up in some of the sporadic CJDs.
FOR these reasons, I cannot accept that the difference in bands and mass (heavier or lighter), are the meaning of another different strain differentiating between UK c-BSE (typical), atypical BSE H or L, and or Italian L-BASE.
I think i might be partly to blame for the confusion, because sometimes i will use BASE, and sometimes i will use atypical BSE, h or l. same with the nvCJD, i still catch myself using that term, as opposed to the newest terminology of vCJD.
kind regards,
terry
SEE FULL TEXT WITH SOURCES
Sunday, March 16, 2008
MAD COW DISEASE terminology UK c-BSE (typical), atypical BSE H or L, and or Italian L-BASE
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2008/03/mad-cow-disease-terminology-uk-c-bse.html
TSS
MAD COW DISEASE terminology UK c-BSE (typical), atypical BSE H or L, and or Italian L-BASE
Greetings,
I thought i might try and sort things out about this a bit. Some folks seem to be a bit confused,(confusious included has been confused a time or two to be sure). but i think some clarification needs to be done. you can interpret it the way you want. i have my opinions on why i interpret the science one way, you may have yours. here goes ;
WE first heard of the atypical called BASE Bovine Amyloidotic Spongiform Encephalopathy (Italy), and it was said then that the molecular signature of this previously undescribed bovine PrPSc was similar to that encountered in a distinct subtype of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The Italian BASE Bovine Amyloidotic Spongiform Encephalopathy termed that due to the 'amyloid plaques'.
THIS is where i start to have problems with the term. if you will recall, the first ten nvCJD in young adolescents, 'amyloid plaques' were used then to differentiate between the sporadic CJDs and nvCJD, UNTIL the 'amyloid plaques' stared showing up in some sporadic CJDs. now (10%) amyloid deposits, called prion protein (PrP) amyloid plaques, may be observed in sporadic CJD.
ALSO, with the BASE, you will find that some want to hypothesize that the BASE is just BSE in older cattle.
well, if that was the case, then would not sporadic CJD be just nvCJD in old people?
ALSO, it was said that nvCJD was only in the young. this too was part of a diagnostic criteria to differentiate between the nvCJD and sporadic CJDs, until sCJD started showing up in young adolescents.
ALSO, it was said that only the nvCJD have long incubation period, this too was part of diagnostic criteria to differentiate between the nvCJD and sporadic CJDs, until the long incubation started showing up in some sporadic CJDs.
ALSO, it was said that on the nvCJD victims had psychological mental symptoms, not the sporadic CJDs, that too until the psychological and mental symptoms started showing up in some of the sporadic CJDs.
FOR these reasons, I cannot accept that the difference in bands and mass (heavier or lighter), are the meaning of another different strain differentiating between UK c-BSE (typical), atypical BSE H or L, and or Italian L-BASE.
I think i might be partly to blame for the confusion, because sometimes i will use BASE, and sometimes i will use atypical BSE, h or l. same with the nvCJD, i still catch myself using that term, as opposed to the newest terminology of vCJD.
kind regards,
terry
SEE FULL TEXT WITH SOURCES
Sunday, March 16, 2008
MAD COW DISEASE terminology UK c-BSE (typical), atypical BSE H or L, and or Italian L-BASE
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2008/03/mad-cow-disease-terminology-uk-c-bse.html
TSS
Thursday, March 13, 2008
DOWNER COW BLUES SENATORS WANT CRACKDOWN
DOWNER COW BLUES SENATORS WANT CRACKDOWN
Senators want crackdown on violations of downer cow prohibitions
Last Update: 5:12 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) - Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California have introduced a bill to stiffen penalties against slaughterhouses that illegally process cows too sick to stand.
The legislation comes in response to the scandal over a Southern California slaughterhouse that improperly allowed so-called downer cattle into the food supply, leading to a recall of 143 million pounds of beef. Downer cows pose higher risk of mad cow disease and other infections.
The bill would let the Agriculture Department impose a fine for a first violation, a one-year suspension for a second violation and permanent shutdown for a third violation.
The legislation is also sponsored by Senators Ted Stevens of Alaska and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii.
http://www.fox6.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=ae9882e6-db32-485e-9c95-9adc899e9998
Panel grills meatpacking chief on beef recall at Chino plant
J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press
Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. President Steve Mendell, center, prepares to testify before a House subcommittee hearing on federal regulations for food and food safety.
Steve Mendell of closed Westland/ Hallmark company tells lawmakers, 'My system broke down.'
By Nicole Gaouette, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 13, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The president of the Chino meatpacking plant that triggered the largest beef recall in U.S. history admitted Wednesday that crippled cows, which are more likely to carry disease, probably entered the food supply at his company.
"Obviously my system broke down," said Steve Mendell, president of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., once a major supplier to the school lunch program.
Mendell initially told a House oversight subcommittee that "downer" cows at his plant "were not slaughtered, ground or sold."
But after lawmakers screened a graphic undercover video that showed ailing cows being jabbed with electric prods, beaten and rolled with forklifts toward slaughter, Mendell acknowledged that the four-minute clip did indeed show that at least two cows were processed into food.
Dressed soberly in black, Mendell, of Newport Beach, was flushed but composed, apologetic and insistent that the meat at his plant was safe for consumption. He told lawmakers that he had received death threats, that his family and employees had suffered, and that his company "is ruined" and would not reopen.
"My whole life is up in smoke," he said.
After watching a video of his plant taken by an undercover investigator from the Humane Society of the United States, Mendell briefly bowed his head and shut his eyes.
"Would you consume meat from a cow slaughtered that way?" asked Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.).
"No," Mendell said.
The hearing by a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee touched on multiple failures in the nation's food safety system, not only within Mendell's firm but also by independent auditors, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's on-site investigators responsible for monitoring Westland/Hallmark.
"There is a serious problem with our food safety system," said Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
Stupak noted that since his subcommittee began investigating the FDA's ability to protect the nation's food supply 14 months ago there have been at least 163 recalls and health alerts tied to FDA-regulated products. Since 2007, Stupak added, there have been 67 meat recalls totaling about 180 million pounds.
Practices at the Westland/Hallmark plant led the USDA to announce the recall of 143 million pounds of meat, 50 million of which had been sent to school lunch programs. About 20 million pounds of the school-bound meat has already been consumed.
Mendell, who ignored an initial summons to appear before the committee in February, was issued a subpoena to appear Wednesday. He arrived with one of Washington's most high-profile lawyers, Asa Hutchinson, a former congressman and former member of the Bush administration whom Mendell hired Friday.
Democrats and Republicans, who have spent most of this Congress bickering with each other, ganged up on the Westland/Hallmark president.
"There's an easy way and a hard way to answer questions from this committee," Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) warned Mendell. "Either way, we'll find out what we want to know."
Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas) added his own word of caution: "There's no daylight between Republicans and Democrats on this issue."
Action against Westland/Hallmark began when the Humane Society released video filmed by an investigator Jan. 30. Five on-site USDA inspectors had failed to notice anything wrong.
The plant, which slaughtered about 500 cattle a day, shut operations Feb. 4. After the Humane Society provided video evidence that downer cows were being slaughtered, Westland/Hallmark voluntarily recalled the beef Feb. 17.
Downer cows have been banned from entering the food supply since 2004, but the USDA has made an exception for cows that were inspected after they fell and seemed only to have external injuries. The Westland/Hallmark cows were not being inspected.
Page 2 of 2
Ailing cows are at greater risk of carrying E. coli, salmonella bacteria and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a fatal neurological disorder known as mad cow disease.
Rep. Edward Whitfield (R-Ky.) grimaced as he watched the video, which at one point showed a downer cow being "waterboarded" by a worker who directed a hose of water into the animal's nostrils. Whitfield suggested to Mendell that the USDA should ban the slaughter of any downer cows. But Mendell contended that those situations should be judged on a case-by-case basis and pointed out that companies lost money on any cow that was euthanized.
Mendell told lawmakers that he wished he had installed cameras in the plant after a 2005 citation for inhumane treatment of animals. Instead, he said, he improved training, instituting monthly sessions of about an hour to an hour and a half.
Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas), who noticed Spanish-speaking workers in the video, asked whether Mendell might have had a language problem, but Mendell responded that the supervisors were bilingual.
Mendell produced records that showed that the Humane Society investigator was trained. But in an interview, Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said the investigator never received training. Pacelle said the Humane Society would not reveal the identity of the investigator because he would continue to do similar work, but described him as a committed vegan.
Mendell pointed to 17 external audits and a dozen internal ones last year that showed his plant's practices were exemplary, but lawmakers were unimpressed.
"So many audits, what went wrong?" countered Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.). "There's something wrong in all these reviews, there's something wrong . . . in the corporate culture. We have to figure out why you had so many reviews, and then the Humane Society does its undercover, and voila."
Even if downer cows had been slaughtered, Mendell stressed, the processed meat would still be all right as later inspections screened out any "specified risk materials" that might lead to mad cow disease.
"There's less than a minute chance of that material being contaminated," he said.
Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) told Mendell that there were children in his district who had consumed Westland/Hallmark meat. He noted that it could take more than a decade before mad cow disease is detected in humans.
"In 13 years, you're not going to be around," Green said. "That's my concern and the concern of this Congress."
nicole.gaouette@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-hallmark13mar13,1,5872989.story
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-hallmark13mar13,0,4930134.story?page=2&track=ntothtml
tip of the iceberg.
what went wrong ???
they call it, kaaching $$$
Web posted Wednesday, February 18, 1998 2:02 p.m. CT
Graphic pictures greet Winfrey jury
By KAY LEDBETTER Globe-News Farm and Ranch Editor
Pictures of sheep heads, euthanized pets and roadkill greeted jurors this morning as they returned to the continuation of the cattlemen vs. Oprah Winfrey lawsuit.
The lawsuit continues today in U.S. District Mary Lou Robinson's court, but in a much diminished state.
snip...
Defense lawyer Charles Babcock called Van Smith, a City Paper reporter from Baltimore who had written an article on rendering plants in September 1995.
Smith and Babcock went through more than 50 pictures taken as the reporter toured the Valley Proteins plant in Baltimore and followed a rendering truck to the local animal shelter, a sausage plant and a slaughterhouse.
The pictures showed offal being emptied from the slaughterhouses. They showed animal shelter workers in the euthanasia room; barrels of dead animals in a refrigerated room at the animal shelter; waste meat from the sausage plant; and dead sheep from the slaughterhouse.
Web posted Friday, January 23, 1998 5:49 a.m. CT
TSS
Witness testifies some ill cattle sent to rendering plant
By CHIP CHANDLER Globe-News Staff Writer
snip...
Mike Engler -- son of Paul Engler, the original plaintiff and owner of Cactus Feeders Inc. -- agreed that more than 10 cows with some sort of central nervous system disorder were sent to Hereford By-Products.
The younger Engler, who has a doctorate in biochemistry from Johns Hopkins University, was the only witness jurors heard Thursday in the Oprah Winfrey defamation trial. His testimony will resume this morning.
According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report from which Winfrey attorney Charles Babcock quoted, encephalitis caused by unknown reasons could be a warning sign for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
Encephalitis was indicated on the death certificates -- or ``dead slips'' -- of three Cactus Feeders cows discussed in court. The slips then were stamped, ``Picked up by your local used cattle dealer'' before the carcasses were taken to the rendering plant.
snip...
http://www.amarillonet.com/
USDA CERTIFIED NON-AMBULATORY DOWNER COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/beef-recall-nationwide-school-lunch.html
Specified Risk Material SRM
On January 18, 2002, FDA's New Orleans District Office issued a Warning Letter to J. Randall Mayes, Pulaski, Tennessee, a dairy farmer. An FDA inspection conducted November 26 28, 2001, confirmed that the farmer sold a cow for use as human food containing gentamicin residues. USDA analysis of tissue samples from the cow sold by Mayes identified the presence of 7.12 ppm of gentamicin in the kidney tissue. There is no established tolerance for gentamicin in cattle. In addition, FDA's investigation found that the dairy farmer held animals under conditions which were so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues were likely to enter the food supply.
http://www.fda.gov/ora/about/enf_story/archive/2002/ch5/cvm1.htm
The Warning Letter also noted that the owner holds animals under conditions which are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply.
http://www.fda.gov/ora/about/enf_story/archive/2001/ch5/default.htm
Mr. Sturm was found to hold animals on his farm under conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. In addition, he failed to use the drug, Albon, containing sulfadimethoxine, in conformance with the labeling.
A warning letter was issued to the following firms for violations related to 21 CFR Part 589.2000-Animal Proteins Prohibited in Ruminant Feed. This regulation is intended to prevent the establishment and amplification of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
. Scott Nelson, Owner, Integra Fish Foods, Inc., Grand Junction, CO
. Bruce A. Burgett, General Manager, The Carrollton Farmers Exchange, Carrollton, OH
Violations included failure to label feeds that contain, or may contain, prohibited materials with the required cautionary statement "Do Not Feed to Cattle or Other Ruminants," insufficient customer records to track the distribution of products, and lack of written procedures for cleaning or flushing equipment after mixing feeds containing prohibited material.
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Sep_Oct01.htm
Mr. Van Dam was found to hold animals under improper conditions whereby diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply.
Ms. Silveira was found to be adulterating the drug Mutual Pharmaceutical brand of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim tablets, since she did not follow her veterinarian's prescribed withdrawal time of thirty days prior to slaughter.
Mr. Edwards did not properly identify treated animals to assure they are not sold for slaughter, did not maintain treatment records, and he did not follow labeling directions for medicated feed.
O & L Dairy was found to lack an adequate system for determining the medication status of animals offered for slaughter, and for assuring that animals which had been medicated had been withheld from slaughter for the appropriate periods of time to deplete potentially hazardous residues of drugs.
Mr. Sturm was found to hold animals on his farm under conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. In addition, he failed to use the drug, Albon, containing sulfadimethoxine, in conformance with the labeling.
A warning letter was issued to the following firms for violations related to 21 CFR Part 589.2000-Animal Proteins Prohibited in Ruminant Feed. This regulation is intended to prevent the establishment and amplification of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
. Scott Nelson, Owner, Integra Fish Foods, Inc., Grand Junction, CO
. Bruce A. Burgett, General Manager, The Carrollton Farmers Exchange, Carrollton, OH
Violations included failure to label feeds that contain, or may contain, prohibited materials with the required cautionary statement "Do Not Feed to Cattle or Other Ruminants," insufficient customer records to track the distribution of products, and lack of written procedures for cleaning or flushing equipment after mixing feeds containing prohibited material.
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Sep_Oct.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals on your farm under conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. For example, you failed to maintain treatment records for bull calves fed medicated milk replacer, lack a system for assuring that the milk replacer is used in a manner not contrary to label instructions, and lack a system for assuring the medicated animals have been withheld from slaughter for appropriate periods of time to permit depletion of potentially hazardous drug residues from edible tissues. Foods from animals held under such conditions are adulterated under Section 402(a)(4) of the Act [21 U.S.C. Section 342(a)(4)].
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl2.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals on your farm under conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and lormedicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. For example, you lack a system for assuring that drugs are used in a manner not contrary to label instructions, and for assuring animals medicated on your farrn have been withheld from slaughter for appropriate periods of time to permit depletion of potentially hazardous drug residues from edible tissues. Foods from animals held under such conditions are adulterated under Section 402(a)(4) of the Act.
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl6.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals which are ultimately offered for slaughter as food, under conditions which are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply.
John Weststeyn 2 T & J Dairy
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl130.pdf
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Statement 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 30 th , 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.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01061.html
10,000,000+ LBS. of PROHIBITED BANNED MAD COW FEED I.E. MBM IN COMMERCE USA 2007
Date: March 21, 2007 at 2:27 pm PST
RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINES -- CLASS II
___________________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk cattle feed made with recalled Darling's 85% Blood Meal, Flash Dried, Recall # V-024-2007
CODE
Cattle feed delivered between 01/12/2007 and 01/26/2007
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Pfeiffer, Arno, Inc, Greenbush, WI. by conversation on February 5, 2007.
Firm initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Blood meal used to make cattle feed was recalled because it was cross-contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal that had been manufactured on common equipment and labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
42,090 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
WI
___________________________________
PRODUCT
Custom dairy premix products: MNM ALL PURPOSE Pellet, HILLSIDE/CDL Prot-Buffer Meal, LEE, M.-CLOSE UP PX Pellet, HIGH DESERT/ GHC LACT Meal, TATARKA, M CUST PROT Meal, SUNRIDGE/CDL PROTEIN Blend, LOURENZO, K PVM DAIRY Meal, DOUBLE B DAIRY/GHC LAC Mineral, WEST PIONT/GHC CLOSEUP Mineral, WEST POINT/GHC LACT Meal, JENKS, J/COMPASS PROTEIN Meal, COPPINI - 8# SPECIAL DAIRY Mix, GULICK, L-LACT Meal (Bulk), TRIPLE J - PROTEIN/LACTATION, ROCK CREEK/GHC MILK Mineral, BETTENCOURT/GHC S.SIDE MK-MN, BETTENCOURT #1/GHC MILK MINR, V&C DAIRY/GHC LACT Meal, VEENSTRA, F/GHC LACT Meal, SMUTNY, A-BYPASS ML W/SMARTA, Recall # V-025-2007
CODE
The firm does not utilize a code - only shipping documentation with commodity and weights identified.
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Rangen, Inc, Buhl, ID, by letters on February 13 and 14, 2007. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Products manufactured from bulk feed containing blood meal that was cross contaminated with prohibited meat and bone meal and the labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
9,997,976 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
ID and NV
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR MARCH 21, 2007
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/EnforcementReports/2007/ucm120446.htm
Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALL USA SEPT 6, 2006 1961.72 TONS IN COMMERCE AL, TN, AND WV
Date: September 6, 2006 at 7:58 am PST
PRODUCT
a) EVSRC Custom dairy feed, Recall # V-130-6;
snip...
PLEASE SEE FULL TEXT AND LONG LAUNDRY LIST OF MAD COW PROTEIN AND SRM ''IN COMMERCE'' ;
snip...
(PLEASE NOTE, .005 grams of TSE tainted mad cow feed is lethal enough to kill a cow. ...tss)
SEE SRMS
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html
USDA CERTIFIED H-BASE MAD COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/usda-certified-h-base-mad-cow-school.html
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Release No. 0046.08 Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer Regarding Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company Two Year Product Recall
Release No. 0046.08
Contact:
USDA Press Office (202) 720-4623
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/release-no-004608-statement-by.html
Thursday, February 21, 2008
TRANSCRIPT: Technical Briefing - Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company - (02/21/08)
Release No. 0054.08
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/transcript-technical-briefing.html
Geographical BSE Risk (GBR) assessments covering 2000-2006
Date : 01.08.2006
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/Scientific_Document/GBR_assessments_table_Overview_assessed_countries_2002-2006.pdf
In this context, a word is in order about the US testing program. After the discovery of the first (imported) cow in 2003, the magnitude of testing was much increased, reaching a level of >400,000 tests in 2005 (Figure 4). Neither of the 2 more recently indigenously infected older animals with nonspecific clinical features would have been detected without such testing, and neither would have been identified as atypical without confirmatory Western blots. Despite these facts, surveillance has now been decimated to 40,000 annual tests (USDA news release no. 0255.06, July 20, 2006) and invites the accusation that the United States will never know the true status of its involvement with BSE.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no12/06-0965.htm
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [flounder9@verizon.net] Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 6:17 PM To: fsis.regulationscomments@fsis.usda.gov
Subject: [Docket No. 03-025IFA] FSIS Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle
Greetings FSIS,
I would kindly like to submit the following to [Docket No. 03-025IFA] FSIS Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle
THE BSE/TSE SUB CLINICAL
Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle Broken bones and such may be the first signs of a sub clinical BSE/TSE Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle ;
SUB CLINICAL PRION INFECTION MRC-43-00 Issued: Monday, 28 August 2000
NEW EVIDENCE OF SUB-CLINICAL PRION INFECTION: IMPORTANT RESEARCH FINDINGS RELEVANT TO CJD AND BSE
A team of researchers led by Professor John Collinge at the Medical Research Council Prion Unit1 report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, on new evidence for the existence of a sub-clinical form of BSE in mice which was unknown until now. The scientists took a closer look at what is known as the species barrier - the main protective factor which limits the ability of prions2 to jump from one species to infect another. They found the mice had a sub-clinical form of disease where they carried high levels of infectivity but did not develop the clinical disease during their normal lifespan. The idea that individuals can carry a disease and show no clinical symptoms is not new. It is commonly seen in conventional infectious diseases. Researchers tried to infect laboratory mice with hamster prions3 called Sc237 and found that the mice showed no apparent signs of disease. However, on closer inspection they found that the mice had high levels of mouse prions in their brains. This was surprising because it has always been assumed that hamster prions could not cause the disease in mice, even when injected directly into the brain. In addition the researchers showed that this new sub-clinical infection could be easily passed on when injected into healthy mice and hamsters. The height of the species barrier varies widely between different combinations of animals and also varies with the type or strain of prions. While some barriers are quite small (for instance BSE easily infects mice), other combinations of strain and species show a seemingly impenetrable barrier. Traditionally, the particular barrier studied here was assumed to be robust. Professor John Collinge said: "These results have a number of important implications. They suggest that we should re-think how we measure species barriers in the laboratory, and that we should not assume that just because one species appears resistant to a strain of prions they have been exposed to, that they do not silently carry the infection.
This research raises the possibility, which has been mentioned before, that apparently healthy cattle could harbour, but never show signs of, BSE. "This is a timely and unexpected result, increasing what we know about prion disease. These new findings have important implications for those researching prion disease, those responsible for preventing infected material getting into the food chain and for those considering how best to safeguard health and reduce the risk that theoretically, prion disease could be contracted through medical and surgical procedures."
ISSUED FRIDAY 25 AUGUST UNDER EMBARGO. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EMBARGO IS SET BY THE JOURNAL.
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/index/public_interest/public-press_office/public-press_releases_2000/public-mrc-43-00.htm
full text ;
9/13/2005
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/03-025IFA/03-025IFA-2.pdf
[Docket No. FSIS-2006-0011] FSIS Harvard Risk Assessment of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/2006-0011/2006-0011-1.pdf
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM FROM DOWNER CATTLE UPDATE
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
Beef - Westland/Hallmark Recall OF BEEF WITH DEADSTOCK DOWNER COWS, THE MOST HIGH RISK CATTLE FOR BSE/TSE AKA MAD COW DISEASE
Additional Products Listing 5-20-08
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20Addl%20Prod052008.pdf
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HEALTHINFO/Pages/FDB%20Beef-WestlandHallmarkRecall.aspx
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION LIST
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20All%20Dist042008.pdf
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS CONTAINING RECALLED BEEF
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20Addl%20Prod052008.pdf
SEE FULL LIST OF ALL RECALLED SUSPECT DEAD STOCK DOWNER COW PRODUCTS HERE ;
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HEALTHINFO/Pages/FDB%20Beef-WestlandHallmarkRecall.aspx
>>>In the papers, the government alleges the meatpacking plant slaughtered and processed downer cows for nearly four years — from January 2004 to September 2007 — <<<
>> 95%) downer or dead dairy cattle and a few horses. Sheep had never been fed.
We believe that these findings may indicate the presence of a previously unrecognized scrapie-like disease in cattle and wish to alert dairy practitioners to this possibility.
snip...
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH ANNUAL WESTERN CONFERENCE FOR FOOD ANIMAL VETERINARY MEDICINE, University of Arizona, March 17-19, 1986
http://web.archive.org/web/20030331063559/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m09a/tab01.pdf
http://web.archive.org/web/20030516051623/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m09/tab05.pdf
IN CONFIDENCE
PERCEPTIONS OF UNCONVENTIONAL SLOW VIRUS DISEASES OF ANIMALS IN THE USA
http://collections.europarchive.org/tna/20080102193705/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2009/09/suit-meatpacker-used-downer-cows-for-4.html
"The alleged misrepresentations by Hallmark and Westland could have impacted the health of many of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens--our schoolchildren," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. "Our intervention in this case demonstrates how seriously we will pursue allegations such as these."
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2009/05/us-government-sues-westlandhallmark.html
TSS
Senators want crackdown on violations of downer cow prohibitions
Last Update: 5:12 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) - Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California have introduced a bill to stiffen penalties against slaughterhouses that illegally process cows too sick to stand.
The legislation comes in response to the scandal over a Southern California slaughterhouse that improperly allowed so-called downer cattle into the food supply, leading to a recall of 143 million pounds of beef. Downer cows pose higher risk of mad cow disease and other infections.
The bill would let the Agriculture Department impose a fine for a first violation, a one-year suspension for a second violation and permanent shutdown for a third violation.
The legislation is also sponsored by Senators Ted Stevens of Alaska and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii.
http://www.fox6.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=ae9882e6-db32-485e-9c95-9adc899e9998
Panel grills meatpacking chief on beef recall at Chino plant
J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press
Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. President Steve Mendell, center, prepares to testify before a House subcommittee hearing on federal regulations for food and food safety.
Steve Mendell of closed Westland/ Hallmark company tells lawmakers, 'My system broke down.'
By Nicole Gaouette, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 13, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The president of the Chino meatpacking plant that triggered the largest beef recall in U.S. history admitted Wednesday that crippled cows, which are more likely to carry disease, probably entered the food supply at his company.
"Obviously my system broke down," said Steve Mendell, president of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., once a major supplier to the school lunch program.
Mendell initially told a House oversight subcommittee that "downer" cows at his plant "were not slaughtered, ground or sold."
But after lawmakers screened a graphic undercover video that showed ailing cows being jabbed with electric prods, beaten and rolled with forklifts toward slaughter, Mendell acknowledged that the four-minute clip did indeed show that at least two cows were processed into food.
Dressed soberly in black, Mendell, of Newport Beach, was flushed but composed, apologetic and insistent that the meat at his plant was safe for consumption. He told lawmakers that he had received death threats, that his family and employees had suffered, and that his company "is ruined" and would not reopen.
"My whole life is up in smoke," he said.
After watching a video of his plant taken by an undercover investigator from the Humane Society of the United States, Mendell briefly bowed his head and shut his eyes.
"Would you consume meat from a cow slaughtered that way?" asked Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-Ill.).
"No," Mendell said.
The hearing by a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee touched on multiple failures in the nation's food safety system, not only within Mendell's firm but also by independent auditors, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's on-site investigators responsible for monitoring Westland/Hallmark.
"There is a serious problem with our food safety system," said Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
Stupak noted that since his subcommittee began investigating the FDA's ability to protect the nation's food supply 14 months ago there have been at least 163 recalls and health alerts tied to FDA-regulated products. Since 2007, Stupak added, there have been 67 meat recalls totaling about 180 million pounds.
Practices at the Westland/Hallmark plant led the USDA to announce the recall of 143 million pounds of meat, 50 million of which had been sent to school lunch programs. About 20 million pounds of the school-bound meat has already been consumed.
Mendell, who ignored an initial summons to appear before the committee in February, was issued a subpoena to appear Wednesday. He arrived with one of Washington's most high-profile lawyers, Asa Hutchinson, a former congressman and former member of the Bush administration whom Mendell hired Friday.
Democrats and Republicans, who have spent most of this Congress bickering with each other, ganged up on the Westland/Hallmark president.
"There's an easy way and a hard way to answer questions from this committee," Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) warned Mendell. "Either way, we'll find out what we want to know."
Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas) added his own word of caution: "There's no daylight between Republicans and Democrats on this issue."
Action against Westland/Hallmark began when the Humane Society released video filmed by an investigator Jan. 30. Five on-site USDA inspectors had failed to notice anything wrong.
The plant, which slaughtered about 500 cattle a day, shut operations Feb. 4. After the Humane Society provided video evidence that downer cows were being slaughtered, Westland/Hallmark voluntarily recalled the beef Feb. 17.
Downer cows have been banned from entering the food supply since 2004, but the USDA has made an exception for cows that were inspected after they fell and seemed only to have external injuries. The Westland/Hallmark cows were not being inspected.
Page 2 of 2
Ailing cows are at greater risk of carrying E. coli, salmonella bacteria and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a fatal neurological disorder known as mad cow disease.
Rep. Edward Whitfield (R-Ky.) grimaced as he watched the video, which at one point showed a downer cow being "waterboarded" by a worker who directed a hose of water into the animal's nostrils. Whitfield suggested to Mendell that the USDA should ban the slaughter of any downer cows. But Mendell contended that those situations should be judged on a case-by-case basis and pointed out that companies lost money on any cow that was euthanized.
Mendell told lawmakers that he wished he had installed cameras in the plant after a 2005 citation for inhumane treatment of animals. Instead, he said, he improved training, instituting monthly sessions of about an hour to an hour and a half.
Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas), who noticed Spanish-speaking workers in the video, asked whether Mendell might have had a language problem, but Mendell responded that the supervisors were bilingual.
Mendell produced records that showed that the Humane Society investigator was trained. But in an interview, Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said the investigator never received training. Pacelle said the Humane Society would not reveal the identity of the investigator because he would continue to do similar work, but described him as a committed vegan.
Mendell pointed to 17 external audits and a dozen internal ones last year that showed his plant's practices were exemplary, but lawmakers were unimpressed.
"So many audits, what went wrong?" countered Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.). "There's something wrong in all these reviews, there's something wrong . . . in the corporate culture. We have to figure out why you had so many reviews, and then the Humane Society does its undercover, and voila."
Even if downer cows had been slaughtered, Mendell stressed, the processed meat would still be all right as later inspections screened out any "specified risk materials" that might lead to mad cow disease.
"There's less than a minute chance of that material being contaminated," he said.
Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) told Mendell that there were children in his district who had consumed Westland/Hallmark meat. He noted that it could take more than a decade before mad cow disease is detected in humans.
"In 13 years, you're not going to be around," Green said. "That's my concern and the concern of this Congress."
nicole.gaouette@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-hallmark13mar13,1,5872989.story
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-hallmark13mar13,0,4930134.story?page=2&track=ntothtml
tip of the iceberg.
what went wrong ???
they call it, kaaching $$$
Web posted Wednesday, February 18, 1998 2:02 p.m. CT
Graphic pictures greet Winfrey jury
By KAY LEDBETTER Globe-News Farm and Ranch Editor
Pictures of sheep heads, euthanized pets and roadkill greeted jurors this morning as they returned to the continuation of the cattlemen vs. Oprah Winfrey lawsuit.
The lawsuit continues today in U.S. District Mary Lou Robinson's court, but in a much diminished state.
snip...
Defense lawyer Charles Babcock called Van Smith, a City Paper reporter from Baltimore who had written an article on rendering plants in September 1995.
Smith and Babcock went through more than 50 pictures taken as the reporter toured the Valley Proteins plant in Baltimore and followed a rendering truck to the local animal shelter, a sausage plant and a slaughterhouse.
The pictures showed offal being emptied from the slaughterhouses. They showed animal shelter workers in the euthanasia room; barrels of dead animals in a refrigerated room at the animal shelter; waste meat from the sausage plant; and dead sheep from the slaughterhouse.
Web posted Friday, January 23, 1998 5:49 a.m. CT
TSS
Witness testifies some ill cattle sent to rendering plant
By CHIP CHANDLER Globe-News Staff Writer
snip...
Mike Engler -- son of Paul Engler, the original plaintiff and owner of Cactus Feeders Inc. -- agreed that more than 10 cows with some sort of central nervous system disorder were sent to Hereford By-Products.
The younger Engler, who has a doctorate in biochemistry from Johns Hopkins University, was the only witness jurors heard Thursday in the Oprah Winfrey defamation trial. His testimony will resume this morning.
According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report from which Winfrey attorney Charles Babcock quoted, encephalitis caused by unknown reasons could be a warning sign for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
Encephalitis was indicated on the death certificates -- or ``dead slips'' -- of three Cactus Feeders cows discussed in court. The slips then were stamped, ``Picked up by your local used cattle dealer'' before the carcasses were taken to the rendering plant.
snip...
http://www.amarillonet.com/
USDA CERTIFIED NON-AMBULATORY DOWNER COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/beef-recall-nationwide-school-lunch.html
Specified Risk Material SRM
On January 18, 2002, FDA's New Orleans District Office issued a Warning Letter to J. Randall Mayes, Pulaski, Tennessee, a dairy farmer. An FDA inspection conducted November 26 28, 2001, confirmed that the farmer sold a cow for use as human food containing gentamicin residues. USDA analysis of tissue samples from the cow sold by Mayes identified the presence of 7.12 ppm of gentamicin in the kidney tissue. There is no established tolerance for gentamicin in cattle. In addition, FDA's investigation found that the dairy farmer held animals under conditions which were so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues were likely to enter the food supply.
http://www.fda.gov/ora/about/enf_story/archive/2002/ch5/cvm1.htm
The Warning Letter also noted that the owner holds animals under conditions which are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply.
http://www.fda.gov/ora/about/enf_story/archive/2001/ch5/default.htm
Mr. Sturm was found to hold animals on his farm under conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. In addition, he failed to use the drug, Albon, containing sulfadimethoxine, in conformance with the labeling.
A warning letter was issued to the following firms for violations related to 21 CFR Part 589.2000-Animal Proteins Prohibited in Ruminant Feed. This regulation is intended to prevent the establishment and amplification of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
. Scott Nelson, Owner, Integra Fish Foods, Inc., Grand Junction, CO
. Bruce A. Burgett, General Manager, The Carrollton Farmers Exchange, Carrollton, OH
Violations included failure to label feeds that contain, or may contain, prohibited materials with the required cautionary statement "Do Not Feed to Cattle or Other Ruminants," insufficient customer records to track the distribution of products, and lack of written procedures for cleaning or flushing equipment after mixing feeds containing prohibited material.
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Sep_Oct01.htm
Mr. Van Dam was found to hold animals under improper conditions whereby diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply.
Ms. Silveira was found to be adulterating the drug Mutual Pharmaceutical brand of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim tablets, since she did not follow her veterinarian's prescribed withdrawal time of thirty days prior to slaughter.
Mr. Edwards did not properly identify treated animals to assure they are not sold for slaughter, did not maintain treatment records, and he did not follow labeling directions for medicated feed.
O & L Dairy was found to lack an adequate system for determining the medication status of animals offered for slaughter, and for assuring that animals which had been medicated had been withheld from slaughter for the appropriate periods of time to deplete potentially hazardous residues of drugs.
Mr. Sturm was found to hold animals on his farm under conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. In addition, he failed to use the drug, Albon, containing sulfadimethoxine, in conformance with the labeling.
A warning letter was issued to the following firms for violations related to 21 CFR Part 589.2000-Animal Proteins Prohibited in Ruminant Feed. This regulation is intended to prevent the establishment and amplification of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
. Scott Nelson, Owner, Integra Fish Foods, Inc., Grand Junction, CO
. Bruce A. Burgett, General Manager, The Carrollton Farmers Exchange, Carrollton, OH
Violations included failure to label feeds that contain, or may contain, prohibited materials with the required cautionary statement "Do Not Feed to Cattle or Other Ruminants," insufficient customer records to track the distribution of products, and lack of written procedures for cleaning or flushing equipment after mixing feeds containing prohibited material.
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Sep_Oct.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals on your farm under conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. For example, you failed to maintain treatment records for bull calves fed medicated milk replacer, lack a system for assuring that the milk replacer is used in a manner not contrary to label instructions, and lack a system for assuring the medicated animals have been withheld from slaughter for appropriate periods of time to permit depletion of potentially hazardous drug residues from edible tissues. Foods from animals held under such conditions are adulterated under Section 402(a)(4) of the Act [21 U.S.C. Section 342(a)(4)].
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl2.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals on your farm under conditions that are so inadequate that diseased animals and lormedicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply. For example, you lack a system for assuring that drugs are used in a manner not contrary to label instructions, and for assuring animals medicated on your farrn have been withheld from slaughter for appropriate periods of time to permit depletion of potentially hazardous drug residues from edible tissues. Foods from animals held under such conditions are adulterated under Section 402(a)(4) of the Act.
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl6.htm
Our investigation also found that you hold animals which are ultimately offered for slaughter as food, under conditions which are so inadequate that diseased animals and/or medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply.
John Weststeyn 2 T & J Dairy
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/archive/awl130.pdf
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Statement 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 30 th , 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.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01061.html
10,000,000+ LBS. of PROHIBITED BANNED MAD COW FEED I.E. MBM IN COMMERCE USA 2007
Date: March 21, 2007 at 2:27 pm PST
RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINES -- CLASS II
___________________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk cattle feed made with recalled Darling's 85% Blood Meal, Flash Dried, Recall # V-024-2007
CODE
Cattle feed delivered between 01/12/2007 and 01/26/2007
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Pfeiffer, Arno, Inc, Greenbush, WI. by conversation on February 5, 2007.
Firm initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Blood meal used to make cattle feed was recalled because it was cross-contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal that had been manufactured on common equipment and labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
42,090 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
WI
___________________________________
PRODUCT
Custom dairy premix products: MNM ALL PURPOSE Pellet, HILLSIDE/CDL Prot-Buffer Meal, LEE, M.-CLOSE UP PX Pellet, HIGH DESERT/ GHC LACT Meal, TATARKA, M CUST PROT Meal, SUNRIDGE/CDL PROTEIN Blend, LOURENZO, K PVM DAIRY Meal, DOUBLE B DAIRY/GHC LAC Mineral, WEST PIONT/GHC CLOSEUP Mineral, WEST POINT/GHC LACT Meal, JENKS, J/COMPASS PROTEIN Meal, COPPINI - 8# SPECIAL DAIRY Mix, GULICK, L-LACT Meal (Bulk), TRIPLE J - PROTEIN/LACTATION, ROCK CREEK/GHC MILK Mineral, BETTENCOURT/GHC S.SIDE MK-MN, BETTENCOURT #1/GHC MILK MINR, V&C DAIRY/GHC LACT Meal, VEENSTRA, F/GHC LACT Meal, SMUTNY, A-BYPASS ML W/SMARTA, Recall # V-025-2007
CODE
The firm does not utilize a code - only shipping documentation with commodity and weights identified.
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Rangen, Inc, Buhl, ID, by letters on February 13 and 14, 2007. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Products manufactured from bulk feed containing blood meal that was cross contaminated with prohibited meat and bone meal and the labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
9,997,976 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
ID and NV
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR MARCH 21, 2007
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/EnforcementReports/2007/ucm120446.htm
Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALL USA SEPT 6, 2006 1961.72 TONS IN COMMERCE AL, TN, AND WV
Date: September 6, 2006 at 7:58 am PST
PRODUCT
a) EVSRC Custom dairy feed, Recall # V-130-6;
snip...
PLEASE SEE FULL TEXT AND LONG LAUNDRY LIST OF MAD COW PROTEIN AND SRM ''IN COMMERCE'' ;
snip...
(PLEASE NOTE, .005 grams of TSE tainted mad cow feed is lethal enough to kill a cow. ...tss)
SEE SRMS
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html
USDA CERTIFIED H-BASE MAD COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/usda-certified-h-base-mad-cow-school.html
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Release No. 0046.08 Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer Regarding Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company Two Year Product Recall
Release No. 0046.08
Contact:
USDA Press Office (202) 720-4623
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/release-no-004608-statement-by.html
Thursday, February 21, 2008
TRANSCRIPT: Technical Briefing - Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company - (02/21/08)
Release No. 0054.08
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/transcript-technical-briefing.html
Geographical BSE Risk (GBR) assessments covering 2000-2006
Date : 01.08.2006
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/Scientific_Document/GBR_assessments_table_Overview_assessed_countries_2002-2006.pdf
In this context, a word is in order about the US testing program. After the discovery of the first (imported) cow in 2003, the magnitude of testing was much increased, reaching a level of >400,000 tests in 2005 (Figure 4). Neither of the 2 more recently indigenously infected older animals with nonspecific clinical features would have been detected without such testing, and neither would have been identified as atypical without confirmatory Western blots. Despite these facts, surveillance has now been decimated to 40,000 annual tests (USDA news release no. 0255.06, July 20, 2006) and invites the accusation that the United States will never know the true status of its involvement with BSE.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no12/06-0965.htm
From: Terry S. Singeltary Sr. [flounder9@verizon.net] Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 6:17 PM To: fsis.regulationscomments@fsis.usda.gov
Subject: [Docket No. 03-025IFA] FSIS Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle
Greetings FSIS,
I would kindly like to submit the following to [Docket No. 03-025IFA] FSIS Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle
THE BSE/TSE SUB CLINICAL
Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle Broken bones and such may be the first signs of a sub clinical BSE/TSE Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle ;
SUB CLINICAL PRION INFECTION MRC-43-00 Issued: Monday, 28 August 2000
NEW EVIDENCE OF SUB-CLINICAL PRION INFECTION: IMPORTANT RESEARCH FINDINGS RELEVANT TO CJD AND BSE
A team of researchers led by Professor John Collinge at the Medical Research Council Prion Unit1 report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, on new evidence for the existence of a sub-clinical form of BSE in mice which was unknown until now. The scientists took a closer look at what is known as the species barrier - the main protective factor which limits the ability of prions2 to jump from one species to infect another. They found the mice had a sub-clinical form of disease where they carried high levels of infectivity but did not develop the clinical disease during their normal lifespan. The idea that individuals can carry a disease and show no clinical symptoms is not new. It is commonly seen in conventional infectious diseases. Researchers tried to infect laboratory mice with hamster prions3 called Sc237 and found that the mice showed no apparent signs of disease. However, on closer inspection they found that the mice had high levels of mouse prions in their brains. This was surprising because it has always been assumed that hamster prions could not cause the disease in mice, even when injected directly into the brain. In addition the researchers showed that this new sub-clinical infection could be easily passed on when injected into healthy mice and hamsters. The height of the species barrier varies widely between different combinations of animals and also varies with the type or strain of prions. While some barriers are quite small (for instance BSE easily infects mice), other combinations of strain and species show a seemingly impenetrable barrier. Traditionally, the particular barrier studied here was assumed to be robust. Professor John Collinge said: "These results have a number of important implications. They suggest that we should re-think how we measure species barriers in the laboratory, and that we should not assume that just because one species appears resistant to a strain of prions they have been exposed to, that they do not silently carry the infection.
This research raises the possibility, which has been mentioned before, that apparently healthy cattle could harbour, but never show signs of, BSE. "This is a timely and unexpected result, increasing what we know about prion disease. These new findings have important implications for those researching prion disease, those responsible for preventing infected material getting into the food chain and for those considering how best to safeguard health and reduce the risk that theoretically, prion disease could be contracted through medical and surgical procedures."
ISSUED FRIDAY 25 AUGUST UNDER EMBARGO. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EMBARGO IS SET BY THE JOURNAL.
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/index/public_interest/public-press_office/public-press_releases_2000/public-mrc-43-00.htm
full text ;
9/13/2005
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/03-025IFA/03-025IFA-2.pdf
[Docket No. FSIS-2006-0011] FSIS Harvard Risk Assessment of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/2006-0011/2006-0011-1.pdf
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM FROM DOWNER CATTLE UPDATE
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
Beef - Westland/Hallmark Recall OF BEEF WITH DEADSTOCK DOWNER COWS, THE MOST HIGH RISK CATTLE FOR BSE/TSE AKA MAD COW DISEASE
Additional Products Listing 5-20-08
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20Addl%20Prod052008.pdf
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HEALTHINFO/Pages/FDB%20Beef-WestlandHallmarkRecall.aspx
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION LIST
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20All%20Dist042008.pdf
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS CONTAINING RECALLED BEEF
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdb%20eru%20Hmrk%20Addl%20Prod052008.pdf
SEE FULL LIST OF ALL RECALLED SUSPECT DEAD STOCK DOWNER COW PRODUCTS HERE ;
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HEALTHINFO/Pages/FDB%20Beef-WestlandHallmarkRecall.aspx
>>>In the papers, the government alleges the meatpacking plant slaughtered and processed downer cows for nearly four years — from January 2004 to September 2007 — <<<
>> 95%) downer or dead dairy cattle and a few horses. Sheep had never been fed.
We believe that these findings may indicate the presence of a previously unrecognized scrapie-like disease in cattle and wish to alert dairy practitioners to this possibility.
snip...
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH ANNUAL WESTERN CONFERENCE FOR FOOD ANIMAL VETERINARY MEDICINE, University of Arizona, March 17-19, 1986
http://web.archive.org/web/20030331063559/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m09a/tab01.pdf
http://web.archive.org/web/20030516051623/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m09/tab05.pdf
IN CONFIDENCE
PERCEPTIONS OF UNCONVENTIONAL SLOW VIRUS DISEASES OF ANIMALS IN THE USA
http://collections.europarchive.org/tna/20080102193705/http://www.bseinquiry.gov.uk/files/mb/m11b/tab01.pdf
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2009/09/suit-meatpacker-used-downer-cows-for-4.html
"The alleged misrepresentations by Hallmark and Westland could have impacted the health of many of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens--our schoolchildren," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. "Our intervention in this case demonstrates how seriously we will pursue allegations such as these."
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2009/05/us-government-sues-westlandhallmark.html
TSS
Monday, March 10, 2008
Mr. Will Hueston DVM on school lunch program, downers, and mad cow disease 2004 and 2008
Mr. Will Hueston DVM on school lunch program, downers, and mad cow disease 2004 and 2008
A Case of Abuse, Heightened
NYTimes
By JOE NOCERA
Published: March 8, 2008
snip...
Governments all over the world quickly took note and began instituting a series of measures to ensure that B.S.E.-infected cattle would not infiltrate the food supply. The United States, for instance, ordered stepped-up inspections to root out B.S.E., instituted import controls and mandated rules to ensure that cattle brains and spinal cords did not wind up being ingested by cows as part of their feed.
“The challenge to controlling B.S.E. is to control the feed,” Mr. Hueston said. Indeed, he says, many scientists believe that even infected cows can be safely eaten so long as their brains and spinal cord have been removed. But as a matter of course, those parts are removed from every cow, and on the very rare occasion when B.S.E. is diagnosed in a cow, it is destroyed. In truth, the story of mad cow disease has been a public health triumph.
As for downer cows, in the scheme of things they pose a far smaller risk factor for mad cow disease than, say, cattle feed. Still, the government doesn’t want to take any chances, so its rules state that cattle arriving at the slaughterhouse in a “nonambulatory” fashion must be euthanized and their meat must not enter the food supply. There is, however, one exception — an exception that drives Mr. Pacelle crazy. If a cow arrives at the slaughterhouse on its feet and passes inspection and then goes down, it can be still be slaughtered — so long as a U.S.D.A. veterinarian reinspects the animal. ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/business/08nocera.html
Will Hueston, DVM, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Animal Health and Food Safety 2004 Mr. Hueston DVM claims ;
Senate wants to keep downed cattle out of food supply Robert Roos News Editor
Nov 10, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – In an effort to ensure that sick cattle are kept out of the food supply, the Senate last week approved a measure to bar the Department of Agriculture (USDA) from approving the use of "downed" animals for human consumption.
snip...
Cohen said nonambulatory cows can be approved for food use if they show no signs of illness, which can happen with injured animals. "A lot of them are older dairy cows that have either hip or leg injuries," he explained. "Sometimes they have accidental slips in transportation, and that's why a lot of our inspection takes place in the transport vehicle itself, so that the animal doesn't suffer when being moved."
Cohen couldn't say how many nonambulatory cattle turn up at slaughter plants each year or how many are used for food. The AP report said the USDA has estimated that 130,000 downed animals are slaughtered annually.
Akaka said it's not possible to distinguish BSE from many other diseases by simple inspection. "Consequently, BSE-infected cattle can be approved for human and animal consumption," he asserted.
Will Hueston, DVM, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Animal Health and Food Safety in St. Paul, agreed that BSE has no unique clinical signs that make it easily recognizable. Consquently, he said, there is a theoretical risk that a BSE-infected cow could end up food, though no BSE cases have been seen in the United States. "If we had BSE, an animal that [had the disease and] was unable to move because of a broken leg and showed no signs of disease, no fever or abnormal behavior, could enter the food chain," Hueston said.
He added, "I wouldn't go too far down that line, though," because the USDA's surveillance program for BSE focuses largely on downed cattle, which are among the cattle at highest risk. In fiscal year 2003 (which ended Sep 30), the agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) tested 20,277 cattle for BSE, including 16,560 downed cattle, according to information on the agency's Web site. The carcasses of tested animals are held until the test results are in.
In BSE-affected countries, high-risk tissues, including the brain and spinal cord, are removed from all adult cattle at the time of slaughter to guard against the risk of invisible BSE cases entering the food chain, Hueston noted. The abnormal prion proteins associated with BSE have not been found in muscle tissues used as meat.
Cattle that are condemned as unfit for human consumption are sent for rendering, in which the carcass is cooked to remove water and separate fat from protein, Hueston said. The fat and protein are used in pet food, feed for animals other than cattle or other ruminants, and various other products. As a precaution against BSE, material from ruminants cannot legally be fed to ruminants.
See also:
Sen. Akaka's news release
http://akaka.senate.gov/~akaka/releases/03/11/2003B06340.html
http://www.cidrapforum.org/cidrap/content/other/bse/news/nov1003cattle.html
Atlantic Monthly Article is on the Web
Atlantic Monthly article by Ellen Ruppel Shell on mad cow disease in USA
A few colorful quotes from a 13 page article: 'In fact, brain doesn't just enter our food chain but goes directly into the human food supply. Each year, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, which is charged with regulating the meat industry, about a million cow brains are sold for consumption in the United States, and others are exported. Generally these are whole brains taken from cows slaughtered in the kosher manner -- that is, their throats are cut while they are still conscious. Most cows in the United States, though, are shot in the head with a stun gun before having their throats cut, a process perhaps more humane but also, at least when a pneumatic stun gun that injects air is used, more likely to contaminate other parts of the carcass with brain. This pneumatic gun can crack the cow's skull, causing the brain to leak out. And the force of the gun is such that it can blow pieces of brain into the bloodstream, where they can be carried to the animal's lungs or liver. Tam Garland has recovered chunks of brain as large as six inches across in the lungs of slaughtered cattle. Canadian researchers have spotted pieces of brain about two and a half inches wide lodged in cow livers.'
'Will Hueston, a veterinary epidemiologist formerly with the USDA and now an associate dean at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, says that the agency has not imposed a ban on spinal column and brain in the rendering process because to do so would be very expensive and basically unenforceable. As one rendering-plant employee told me, "Who would want the job of cutting out all those spinal columns and brains? You couldn't even get occasional workers to do it." But when asked why brain and spinal column are not banned from the human food supply in the United States, Hueston was circumspect, suggesting that I speak with someone at the Food Safety and Inspection Service.'
'Jacque Knight, a spokeswoman for the FSIS, was vague and seemed annoyed when asked whether brain or spinal cord was getting directly into sausage or other processed meats. "Since the Meat Act of 1906 we have never prohibited brain or spinal cord," she said. "It is part of the animal. However, it is not something people expect to find in meat. Therefore, as of May of last year, we have told our inspectors that if they suspect brain or spinal cord of getting into meat, they should report it." The inspectors' union expressed concern that it would be difficult for its members, already bogged down in other duties, to take on this additional task. The agency employs 7,535 inspectors in 6,200 meat and poultry slaughtering and processing plants. To date fifty-four reports have been filed and five plants have been found in violation of the rule. '
'The Rocky Mountain Laboratories is an unassuming NIH outpost hunkered in the shadow of the magnificent snow-crested Bitterroot Mountains. Built on a residential street in Hamilton, Montana, the red-brick structure stands out like a Brooks Brothers suit on Casual Friday. The lab was set up by the state in 1928 to study Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a deadly tick-borne disease that plagued the region. The people of Hamilton were so nervous about ticks going AWOL from the lab that a moat -- really, a puddle-deep trench -- was dug around its perimeter. Over time the laboratory has branched out to consider a wide range of infectious diseases, and has attracted, among other notables, a world-renowned team of experts on TSE. One of these is Byron Caughey, a strapping, bearded biochemist who looks nothing like the poet whose name he shares.'
http://www.mad-cow.org/mad_sheep.html#aaa
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/98sep/madcow.htm
Dr. Will Hueston, a University of Minnesota veterinarian and expert on public health communications, was cited as saying that new and emerging diseases require public officials to offer straight talk, adding, "You need to be candid and straight-forward -- and you need to be first. In the face of an emerging (disease) issue ... if authoritative sources of information do not step forward, then people will fill that void by anything they can. You end up following rumors." Hueston was further quoted as saying public officials often show "a natural tendency to over-reassure, that everything's all right. ... The more you try to assure people that everything is all right, they think there's something really bad you're not telling."
http://archives.foodsafety.ksu.edu/animalnet/2005/12-2005/AnimalNet%20Dec.%2014_05.eml.html#story0
NOW, some facts Will Hueston, DVM, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Animal Health and Food Safety fails to mention ;
J. Virol. doi:10.1128/JVI.02561-07 Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.
Evaluation of the Human Transmission Risk of an Atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Prion Strain
***These results suggest that, in humans, BASE is a more virulent BSE strain and likely lymphotropic.
http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/JVI.02561-07v1?papetoc
USA MAD COW CASES IN ALABAMA AND TEXAS
***PLEASE NOTE***
USA BASE CASE, (ATYPICAL BSE), AND OR TSE (whatever they are calling it today), please note that both the ALABAMA COW, AND THE TEXAS COW, both were ''H-TYPE'', personal communication Detwiler et al Wednesday, August 22, 2007 11:52 PM. ...TSS
http://lists.iatp.org/listarchive/archive.cfm?listID=147&startrow=1081
2009 UPDATE ON ALABAMA AND TEXAS MAD COWS 2005 and 2006
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2006/08/bse-atypical-texas-and-alabama-update.html
Monday, October 19, 2009
Atypical BSE, BSE, and other human and animal TSE in North America Update October 2009
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/10/atypical-bse-bse-and-other-human-and.html
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
R-CALF: 40 Groups Disagree With USDA's Latest BSE Court Submission
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/11/r-calf-40-groups-disagree-with-usdas.html
Monday, November 23, 2009
BSE GBR RISK ASSESSMENTS UPDATE NOVEMBER 23, 2009 COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND O.I.E.
http://docket-aphis-2006-0041.blogspot.com/2009/11/bse-gbr-risk-assessments-update.html
MARCH 2002
Livestock Mortalities:
Methods of Disposal and Their
Potential Costs
USDA/National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates that in the year 2000,
approximately 4.1 million cattle died before they could be sent to slaughter (Table 2). Of these, 2.4 million were calves (under 500 lbs), with the balance of 1.7 million over 6 months of age (or, as reported, in excess of 500 lbs). ....END...TSS
NASS
Non-Ambulatory
Cattle and Calves
Released May 5, 2005, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department
of Agriculture. For information on Non-ambulatory Cattle and Calves call Mike Miller at 720-3040, office hours 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. ET.
Cattle and Calves: Non-Ambulatory Number,
by Region and United States, 2003-2004
ALL NON-AMBULATORY CATTLE 2003 = 465,000
ALL NON-AMBULATORY CATTLE 2004 = 450,000
SNIP...END...TSS
Non-Ambulatory
Cattle and Calves
Released May 5, 2005, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department
of Agriculture. For information on Non-ambulatory Cattle and Calves call Mike Miller at 720-3040, office hours 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. ET.
Non-Ambulatory Cattle and Calves
Non-ambulatory cattle and calves in the United States totaled 465,000 head during 2003 and
450,000 head during 2004. The number of non-ambulatory cattle 500 pounds or greater totaled
280,000 head in 2003 and 270,000 head in 2004. The number of calves under 500 pounds reported
as non-ambulatory totaled 185,000 head in 2003 and 180,000 head in 2004. ...SNIP...END
August 2004
04-021ANPR 04-021ANPR-68 N/A
An Economic and Environmental Assessment of Eliminating Specified Risk Materials and Cattle Mortalities from Existing Markets
snip...
USDA estimates 1.7 103 million cattle and 2.3656 million calves died prior to slaughter in 20022, for a. total species count of just under 4.1 million deaths. In 2001, USDA reported just over 4.2 million species deaths. The next step is to determine the number of nonambulatory cattle in the United States. No one knows the exact number; however, USDA estimates approximately 200,000 per year based on a survey conducted of American Association of Bovine Practitioners members3, bringing the estimated total number of dead and downer cattle and calves to about 4.3 - 4.4 million per year, roughly consistent with FDA’s estimate of 4.6 million.
USDA does, not regularly report cattle deaths by type, i.e. beef or diary, but it periodically conducts an industry survey to provide a detailed breakdown of the cattle and calf death losses by class, state and size group. From their most recent survey4 it is estimated that 69.4% of cattle deaths and 68,7% of calf deaths are from beef animals, with dairy animals accounting for the remaining 30.6% and 31.3% of cattle and calf deaths, respectively. Given the absence of updated data and little reason to expect these proportions have changed meaningfully over time, we apply these factors to the USDA total cattle and calf death loss estimates reported above to estimate current cattle and calf death loss in the beef and dairy industries (Table 1).
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/DOCKETS/dailys/04/sep04/092104/04n-0264-c00142-vol22.pdf
Monday, October 19, 2009
Atypical BSE, BSE, and other human and animal TSE in North America Update
October 19, 2009
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/10/atypical-bse-bse-and-other-human-and.html
Sunday, September 6, 2009
MAD COW USA 1997 SECRET VIDEO
http://madcowusda.blogspot.com/2009/09/mad-cow-usa-1997-video.html
U.S.A. HIDING MAD COW DISEASE VICTIMS AS SPORADIC CJD ? see video at bottom
http://creutzfeldt-jakob-disease.blogspot.com/2009/07/usa-hiding-mad-cow-disease-victims-as.html
DAMNING TESTIMONY FROM STANLEY PRUSINER THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER ON PRIONS SPEAKING ABOUT ANN VENEMAN see video
http://maddeer.org/video/embedded/prusinerclip.html
2009 UPDATE ON ALABAMA AND TEXAS MAD COWS 2005 and 2006
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2006/08/bse-atypical-texas-and-alabama-update.html
10,000,000+ LBS. of PROHIBITED BANNED MAD COW FEED I.E. MBM IN COMMERCE USA 2007
Date: March 21, 2007 at 2:27 pm PST RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINES -- CLASS II ___________________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk cattle feed made with recalled Darling’s 85% Blood Meal, Flash Dried, Recall # V-024-2007
CODE
Cattle feed delivered between 01/12/2007 and 01/26/2007
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Pfeiffer, Arno, Inc, Greenbush, WI. by conversation on February 5, 2007.
Firm initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Blood meal used to make cattle feed was recalled because it was cross-contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal that had been manufactured on common equipment and labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
42,090 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
WI
___________________________________
PRODUCT
Custom dairy premix products: MNM ALL PURPOSE Pellet, HILLSIDE/CDL Prot-Buffer Meal, LEE, M.-CLOSE UP PX Pellet, HIGH DESERT/ GHC LACT Meal, TATARKA, M CUST PROT Meal, SUNRIDGE/CDL PROTEIN Blend, LOURENZO, K PVM DAIRY Meal, DOUBLE B DAIRY/GHC LAC Mineral, WEST PIONT/GHC CLOSEUP Mineral, WEST POINT/GHC LACT Meal, JENKS, J/COMPASS PROTEIN Meal, COPPINI – 8# SPECIAL DAIRY Mix, GULICK, L-LACT Meal (Bulk), TRIPLE J – PROTEIN/LACTATION, ROCK CREEK/GHC MILK Mineral, BETTENCOURT/GHC S.SIDE MK-MN, BETTENCOURT #1/GHC MILK MINR, V&C DAIRY/GHC LACT Meal, VEENSTRA, F/GHC LACT Meal, SMUTNY, A-BYPASS ML W/SMARTA, Recall # V-025-2007
CODE
The firm does not utilize a code - only shipping documentation with commodity and weights identified.
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Rangen, Inc, Buhl, ID, by letters on February 13 and 14, 2007. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Products manufactured from bulk feed containing blood meal that was cross contaminated with prohibited meat and bone meal and the labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
9,997,976 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
ID and NV
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR MARCH 21, 2007
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2007/ENF00996.html
NEW URL
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/EnforcementReports/2007/ucm120446.htm
Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALL USA SEPT 6, 2006 1961.72 TONS IN COMMERCE AL, TN, AND WV
Date: September 6, 2006 at 7:58 am PST
PRODUCT
a) EVSRC Custom dairy feed, Recall # V-130-6; b) Performance Chick Starter, Recall # V-131-6; c) Performance Quail Grower, Recall # V-132-6; d) Performance Pheasant Finisher, Recall # V-133-6.
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Donaldson & Hasenbein/dba J&R Feed Service, Inc., Cullman, AL, by telephone on June 23, 2006 and by letter dated July 19, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Dairy and poultry feeds were possibly contaminated with ruminant based protein.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
477.72 tons
DISTRIBUTION
AL ______________________________
PRODUCT
a) Dairy feed, custom, Recall # V-134-6; b) Custom Dairy Feed with Monensin, Recall # V-135-6. CODE None. Bulk product
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Recalling Firm: Burkmann Feed, Greeneville, TN, by Telephone beginning on June 28, 2006.
Manufacturer: H. J. Baker & Bro., Inc., Albertville, AL. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Possible contamination of dairy feeds with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
1,484 tons
DISTRIBUTION
TN and WV
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2006/ENF00968.html
Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALLS ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR AUGUST 9, 2006 KY, LA, MS, AL, GA, AND TN 11,000+ TONS
Date: August 16, 2006 at 9:19 am PST
RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINE - CLASS II ______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk custom made dairy feed, Recall # V-115-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Hiseville Feed & Seed Co., Hiseville, KY, by telephone and letter on or about July 14, 2006. FDA initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Custom made feeds contain ingredient called Pro-Lak which may contain ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
Approximately 2,223 tons
DISTRIBUTION
KY
______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk custom made dairy feed, Recall # V-116-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Rips Farm Center, Tollesboro, KY, by telephone and letter on July 14, 2006. FDA initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Custom made feeds contain ingredient called Pro-Lak which may contain ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
1,220 tons
DISTRIBUTION
KY
______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk custom made dairy feed, Recall # V-117-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Kentwood Co-op, Kentwood, LA, by telephone on June 27, 2006. FDA initiated recall is completed.
REASON
Possible contamination of animal feed ingredients, including ingredients that are used in feed for dairy animals, with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
40 tons
DISTRIBUTION
LA and MS
______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk Dairy Feed, Recall V-118-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Cal Maine Foods, Inc., Edwards, MS, by telephone on June 26, 2006. FDA initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Possible contamination of animal feed ingredients, including ingredients that are used in feed for dairy animals, with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
7,150 tons
DISTRIBUTION
MS
______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk custom dairy pre-mixes, Recall # V-119-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Walthall County Co-op, Tylertown, MS, by telephone on June 26, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Possible contamination of dairy animal feeds with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
87 tons
DISTRIBUTION
MS
______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk custom dairy pre-mixes, Recall # V-120-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Ware Milling Inc., Houston, MS, by telephone on June 23, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Possible contamination of dairy animal feeds with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
350 tons
DISTRIBUTION
AL and MS
______________________________
PRODUCT
a) Tucker Milling, LLC Tm 32% Sinking Fish Grower, #2680-Pellet, 50 lb. bags, Recall # V-121-6; b) Tucker Milling, LLC #31120, Game Bird Breeder Pellet, 50 lb. bags, Recall # V-122-6; c) Tucker Milling, LLC #31232 Game Bird Grower, 50 lb. bags, Recall # V-123-6; d) Tucker Milling, LLC 31227-Crumble, Game Bird Starter, BMD Medicated, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-124-6; e) Tucker Milling, LLC #31120, Game Bird Breeder, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-125-6; f) Tucker Milling, LLC #30230, 30 % Turkey Starter, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-126-6; g) Tucker Milling, LLC #30116, TM Broiler Finisher, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-127-6
CODE
All products manufactured from 02/01/2005 until 06/20/2006
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Recalling Firm: Tucker Milling LLC, Guntersville, AL, by telephone and visit on June 20, 2006, and by letter on June 23, 2006. Manufacturer: H. J. Baker and Brothers Inc., Stamford, CT. Firm initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Poultry and fish feeds which were possibly contaminated with ruminant based protein were not labeled as "Do not feed to ruminants".
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
7,541-50 lb bags
DISTRIBUTION
AL, GA, MS, and TN
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR AUGUST 9, 2006
###
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ENFORCE/2006/ENF00964.html
Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALL MI MAMMALIAN PROTEIN VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE 27,694,240 lbs
Date: August 6, 2006 at 6:14 pm PST
PRODUCT
Bulk custom dairy feds manufactured from concentrates, Recall # V-113-6
CODE
All dairy feeds produced between 2/1/05 and 6/16/06 and containing H. J. Baker recalled feed products.
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Vita Plus Corp., Gagetown, MI, by visit beginning on June 21, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
The feed was manufactured from materials that may have been contaminated with mammalian protein.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
27,694,240 lbs
DISTRIBUTION
MI
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR AUGUST 2, 2006
###
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2006/ENF00963.html
THIS LIST IS ENDLESS, SEE FULL TEXT MAD COW PROTEIN SRMs IN COMMERCE. remember this, .005 gram of mad cow tainted material is lethal enough to kill one cow. ...tss
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/01/january-2008-update-on-feed-enforcement.html
Geographical BSE Risk (GBR) assessments covering 2000-2006
Date : 01.08.2006
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/Scientific_Document/GBR_assessments_table_Overview_assessed_countries_2002-2006.pdf
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
Our prior report identified a number of inherent problems in identifying and testing high-risk cattle. We reported that the challenges in identifying the universe of high-risk cattle, as well as the need to design procedures to obtain an appropriate representation of samples, was critical to the success of the BSE surveillance program. The surveillance program was designed to target nonambulatory cattle, cattle showing signs of CNS disease (including cattle testing negative for rabies), cattle showing signs not inconsistent with BSE, and dead cattle. Although APHIS designed procedures to ensure FSIS condemned cattle were sampled and made a concerted effort for outreach to obtain targeted samples, industry practices not considered in the design of the surveillance program reduced assurance that targeted animals were tested for BSE.
USDA/OIG-A/50601-10-KC Page 27
observe these animals ante mortem when possible to assure the animals from the target population are ultimately sampled and the clinical signs evaluated.
snip...
http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/50601-10-KC.pdf
GAO-05-51 October 2004 FOOD SAFETY
over 500 customers receiving potentially BSE contaminated beef .....
* GAO-05-51 October 2004 FOOD SAFETY (over 500 customers receiving potentially BSE contaminated beef) - TSS 10/20/04
October 2004 FOOD SAFETY USDA and FDA Need to Better Ensure Prompt and Complete Recalls of Potentially Unsafe Food
snip...
REPORTS
1. Food Safety: USDA and FDA Need to Better Ensure Prompt and Complete Recalls of Potentially Unsafe Food. GAO-05-51, October 7.tss
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0551.pdf
Highlights -
http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0551high.pdf
3. Mad Cow Disease: FDA's Management of the Feed Ban Has Improved, but Oversight Weaknesses Continue to Limit Program Effectiveness. GAO-05-101, Feb. 25.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-101
Highlights -
www.gao.gov/highlights/d05101high.pdf
SADLY, DEC 2005 SHOWS THAT WE STILL HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH BSE/TSE MAD COW DISEASE FEED
GAO
GAO-06-157R FDA Feed Testing Program
October 11, 2005
SNIP...FULL TEXT 29 PAGES ;
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06157r.pdf
Mad Cow Disease: An Evaluation of a Small Feed Testing Program FDA Implemented in 2003 With Recommendations for Making the Program a Better Oversight Tool. GAO-06-157R, October 11
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-157R
PrPSc distribution of a natural case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Yoshifumi Iwamaru, Yuka Okubo, Tamako Ikeda, Hiroko Hayashi, Mori- kazu Imamura, Takashi Yokoyama and Morikazu Shinagawa Priori Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba 305-0856 Japan gan@affrc.go.jp
Abstract
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a disease of cattle that causes progressive neurodegeneration of the central nervous system. Infectivity of BSE agent is accompanied with an abnormal isoform of prion protein (PrPSc). The specified risk materials (SRM) are tissues potentially carrying BSE infectivity. The following tissues are designated as SRM in Japan: the skull including the brain and eyes but excluding the glossa and the masse- ter muscle, the vertebral column excluding the vertebrae of the tail, spinal cord, distal illeum. For a risk management step, the use of SRM in both animal feed or human food has been prohibited. However, detailed PrPSc distribution remains obscure in BSE cattle and it has caused controversies about definitions of SRM. Therefore we have examined PrPSc distribution in a BSE cattle by Western blotting to reassess definitions of SRM. The 11th BSE case in Japan was detected in fallen stock surveillance. The carcass was stocked in the refrigerator. For the detection of PrPSc, 200 mg of tissue samples were homogenized. Following collagenase treatment, samples were digested with proteinase K. After digestion, PrPSc was precipitated by sodium phosphotungstate (PTA). The pellets were subjected to Western blotting using the standard procedure. Anti-prion protein monoclonal antibody (mAb) T2 conjugated horseradish peroxidase was used for the detection of PrPSc. PrPSc was detected in brain, spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia, trigeminal ganglia, sublingual ganglion, retina. In addition, PrPSc was also detected in the peripheral nerves (sciatic nerve, tibial nerve, vagus nerve). Our results suggest that the currently accepted definitions of SRM in 9/13/2005
179 Page 10 of 17
BSE cattle may need to be reexamined.
T. Kitamoto (Ed.) PRIONS Food and Drug Safety
================
ALSO from the International Symposium of Prion Diseases held in Sendai, October 31, to November 2, 2004; Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Japan
snip...
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/03-025IFA/03-025IFA-2.pdf
Detection and Localization of PrPSc in the Skeletal Muscle Thu Mar 2, 2006 10:40 70.110.86.250
© 2006 American Society for Investigative Pathology
Detection and Localization of PrPSc in the Skeletal Muscle of Patients with Variant, Iatrogenic, and Sporadic Forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Alexander H. Peden, Diane L. Ritchie, Mark W. Head and James W. Ironside From the National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit and Division of Pathology, School of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) differs from other human prion diseases in that the pathogenic prion protein PrPSc can be detected to a greater extent at extraneuronal sites throughout the body, principally within lymphoid tissues. However, a recent study using a high-sensitivity Western blotting technique revealed low levels of PrPSc in skeletal muscle from a quarter of Swiss patients with sporadic CJD (sCJD). This posed the question of whether PrPSc in muscle could also be detected in vCJD, sCJD, and iatrogenic (iCJD) patients from other populations. Therefore, we have used the same high-sensitivity Western blotting technique, in combination with paraffin-embedded tissue blotting, to screen for PrPSc in muscle tissue specimens taken at autopsy from 49 CJD patients in the United Kingdom. These techniques identified muscle PrPSc in 8 of 17 vCJD, 7 of 26 sCJD, and 2 of 5 iCJD patients. Paraffin-embedded tissue blotting analysis showed PrPSc in skeletal muscle in localized anatomical structures that had the morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics of nerve fibers. The detection of PrPSc in muscle tissue from all forms of CJD indicates the possible presence of infectivity in these tissues, suggesting important implications for assessing the potential risk of iatrogenic spread via contaminated surgical instruments.
http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/content/abstract/168/3/927
Prions in Skeletal Muscles of Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease
Rachel C. Angers,1* Shawn R. Browning,1*† Tanya S. Seward,2 Christina J. Sigurdson,4‡ Michael W. Miller,5 Edward A. Hoover,4 Glenn C. Telling1,2,3§ 1Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, 2Sanders Brown Center on Aging, 3Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. 4Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. 5Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA. *These authors contributed equally to this work. †Present address: Department of Infectology, Scripps Research Institute, 5353 Parkside Drive, RF-2, Jupiter, Florida, 33458, USA. ‡Present address: Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland. §To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: gtell2@uky.edu
Prions are transmissible proteinaceous agents of mammals that cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The presence of infectivity in skeletal muscle of experimentally infected mice raised the possibility that dietary exposure to prions might occur through meat consumption (1). Chronic wasting disease (CWD), an enigmatic and contagious prion disease of North American cervids, is of particular concern. The emergence of CWD in an increasingly wide geographic area and the interspecies transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to humans as variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) have raised concerns about zoonotic transmission of CWD. To test whether skeletal muscle of diseased cervids.........SNIP....END...TSS
Monday, February 4, 2008
USDA CERTIFIED H-BASE MAD COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
PLEASE NOTE, this disgusting video is just another example of just how terribly flawed the BSE surveillance and testing program has been over the past decades.
THIS video also proves what the GAO and OIG have been stating for years, that HIGH RISK SUSPECT MAD COW animals have been entering the food chain in the USA for years, and fed to humans and animals for human consumption. LET know one tell you any different, this plant is but one of many, they just got caught $$$
did you check out the waterboarding, without the board, of the high risk suspect mad cow with the high pressure water hose $
what has happened to humanity $
what have we become as humans $
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/usda-certified-h-base-mad-cow-school.html
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Release No. 0046.08 Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer Regarding Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company Two Year Product Recall Release No. 0046.08 Contact: USDA Press Office (202) 720-4623
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/release-no-004608-statement-by.html
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM FROM DOWNER CATTLE UPDATE
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
Blog Archive
2008 (8)
March (6)
California DOWNER COW meat worker: I was following...
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/california-downer-cow-meat-worker-i-was.html
USDA QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS HALLMARK/WESTLAND MEAT
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/usda-questions-and-answers.html
USDA to Hallmark: We want our plaque back
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/usda-to-hallmark-we-want-our-plaque.html
House committee subpoenas Hallmark/Westland CEO
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/house-committee-subpoenas.html
California lists possible recipients of recalled
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/california-lists-possible-recipients-of.html
To the hard working employees of USDA and
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/to-hard-working-employees-of-usda-and.html
February (2)
BEEF RECALL NATIONWIDE - SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM UPDATE
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html
TRANSCRIPT: Technical Briefing - Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
TSS
A Case of Abuse, Heightened
NYTimes
By JOE NOCERA
Published: March 8, 2008
snip...
Governments all over the world quickly took note and began instituting a series of measures to ensure that B.S.E.-infected cattle would not infiltrate the food supply. The United States, for instance, ordered stepped-up inspections to root out B.S.E., instituted import controls and mandated rules to ensure that cattle brains and spinal cords did not wind up being ingested by cows as part of their feed.
“The challenge to controlling B.S.E. is to control the feed,” Mr. Hueston said. Indeed, he says, many scientists believe that even infected cows can be safely eaten so long as their brains and spinal cord have been removed. But as a matter of course, those parts are removed from every cow, and on the very rare occasion when B.S.E. is diagnosed in a cow, it is destroyed. In truth, the story of mad cow disease has been a public health triumph.
As for downer cows, in the scheme of things they pose a far smaller risk factor for mad cow disease than, say, cattle feed. Still, the government doesn’t want to take any chances, so its rules state that cattle arriving at the slaughterhouse in a “nonambulatory” fashion must be euthanized and their meat must not enter the food supply. There is, however, one exception — an exception that drives Mr. Pacelle crazy. If a cow arrives at the slaughterhouse on its feet and passes inspection and then goes down, it can be still be slaughtered — so long as a U.S.D.A. veterinarian reinspects the animal. ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/business/08nocera.html
Will Hueston, DVM, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Animal Health and Food Safety 2004 Mr. Hueston DVM claims ;
Senate wants to keep downed cattle out of food supply Robert Roos News Editor
Nov 10, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – In an effort to ensure that sick cattle are kept out of the food supply, the Senate last week approved a measure to bar the Department of Agriculture (USDA) from approving the use of "downed" animals for human consumption.
snip...
Cohen said nonambulatory cows can be approved for food use if they show no signs of illness, which can happen with injured animals. "A lot of them are older dairy cows that have either hip or leg injuries," he explained. "Sometimes they have accidental slips in transportation, and that's why a lot of our inspection takes place in the transport vehicle itself, so that the animal doesn't suffer when being moved."
Cohen couldn't say how many nonambulatory cattle turn up at slaughter plants each year or how many are used for food. The AP report said the USDA has estimated that 130,000 downed animals are slaughtered annually.
Akaka said it's not possible to distinguish BSE from many other diseases by simple inspection. "Consequently, BSE-infected cattle can be approved for human and animal consumption," he asserted.
Will Hueston, DVM, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Animal Health and Food Safety in St. Paul, agreed that BSE has no unique clinical signs that make it easily recognizable. Consquently, he said, there is a theoretical risk that a BSE-infected cow could end up food, though no BSE cases have been seen in the United States. "If we had BSE, an animal that [had the disease and] was unable to move because of a broken leg and showed no signs of disease, no fever or abnormal behavior, could enter the food chain," Hueston said.
He added, "I wouldn't go too far down that line, though," because the USDA's surveillance program for BSE focuses largely on downed cattle, which are among the cattle at highest risk. In fiscal year 2003 (which ended Sep 30), the agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) tested 20,277 cattle for BSE, including 16,560 downed cattle, according to information on the agency's Web site. The carcasses of tested animals are held until the test results are in.
In BSE-affected countries, high-risk tissues, including the brain and spinal cord, are removed from all adult cattle at the time of slaughter to guard against the risk of invisible BSE cases entering the food chain, Hueston noted. The abnormal prion proteins associated with BSE have not been found in muscle tissues used as meat.
Cattle that are condemned as unfit for human consumption are sent for rendering, in which the carcass is cooked to remove water and separate fat from protein, Hueston said. The fat and protein are used in pet food, feed for animals other than cattle or other ruminants, and various other products. As a precaution against BSE, material from ruminants cannot legally be fed to ruminants.
See also:
Sen. Akaka's news release
http://akaka.senate.gov/~akaka/releases/03/11/2003B06340.html
http://www.cidrapforum.org/cidrap/content/other/bse/news/nov1003cattle.html
Atlantic Monthly Article is on the Web
Atlantic Monthly article by Ellen Ruppel Shell on mad cow disease in USA
A few colorful quotes from a 13 page article: 'In fact, brain doesn't just enter our food chain but goes directly into the human food supply. Each year, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, which is charged with regulating the meat industry, about a million cow brains are sold for consumption in the United States, and others are exported. Generally these are whole brains taken from cows slaughtered in the kosher manner -- that is, their throats are cut while they are still conscious. Most cows in the United States, though, are shot in the head with a stun gun before having their throats cut, a process perhaps more humane but also, at least when a pneumatic stun gun that injects air is used, more likely to contaminate other parts of the carcass with brain. This pneumatic gun can crack the cow's skull, causing the brain to leak out. And the force of the gun is such that it can blow pieces of brain into the bloodstream, where they can be carried to the animal's lungs or liver. Tam Garland has recovered chunks of brain as large as six inches across in the lungs of slaughtered cattle. Canadian researchers have spotted pieces of brain about two and a half inches wide lodged in cow livers.'
'Will Hueston, a veterinary epidemiologist formerly with the USDA and now an associate dean at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, says that the agency has not imposed a ban on spinal column and brain in the rendering process because to do so would be very expensive and basically unenforceable. As one rendering-plant employee told me, "Who would want the job of cutting out all those spinal columns and brains? You couldn't even get occasional workers to do it." But when asked why brain and spinal column are not banned from the human food supply in the United States, Hueston was circumspect, suggesting that I speak with someone at the Food Safety and Inspection Service.'
'Jacque Knight, a spokeswoman for the FSIS, was vague and seemed annoyed when asked whether brain or spinal cord was getting directly into sausage or other processed meats. "Since the Meat Act of 1906 we have never prohibited brain or spinal cord," she said. "It is part of the animal. However, it is not something people expect to find in meat. Therefore, as of May of last year, we have told our inspectors that if they suspect brain or spinal cord of getting into meat, they should report it." The inspectors' union expressed concern that it would be difficult for its members, already bogged down in other duties, to take on this additional task. The agency employs 7,535 inspectors in 6,200 meat and poultry slaughtering and processing plants. To date fifty-four reports have been filed and five plants have been found in violation of the rule. '
'The Rocky Mountain Laboratories is an unassuming NIH outpost hunkered in the shadow of the magnificent snow-crested Bitterroot Mountains. Built on a residential street in Hamilton, Montana, the red-brick structure stands out like a Brooks Brothers suit on Casual Friday. The lab was set up by the state in 1928 to study Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a deadly tick-borne disease that plagued the region. The people of Hamilton were so nervous about ticks going AWOL from the lab that a moat -- really, a puddle-deep trench -- was dug around its perimeter. Over time the laboratory has branched out to consider a wide range of infectious diseases, and has attracted, among other notables, a world-renowned team of experts on TSE. One of these is Byron Caughey, a strapping, bearded biochemist who looks nothing like the poet whose name he shares.'
http://www.mad-cow.org/mad_sheep.html#aaa
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/98sep/madcow.htm
Dr. Will Hueston, a University of Minnesota veterinarian and expert on public health communications, was cited as saying that new and emerging diseases require public officials to offer straight talk, adding, "You need to be candid and straight-forward -- and you need to be first. In the face of an emerging (disease) issue ... if authoritative sources of information do not step forward, then people will fill that void by anything they can. You end up following rumors." Hueston was further quoted as saying public officials often show "a natural tendency to over-reassure, that everything's all right. ... The more you try to assure people that everything is all right, they think there's something really bad you're not telling."
http://archives.foodsafety.ksu.edu/animalnet/2005/12-2005/AnimalNet%20Dec.%2014_05.eml.html#story0
NOW, some facts Will Hueston, DVM, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Animal Health and Food Safety fails to mention ;
J. Virol. doi:10.1128/JVI.02561-07 Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.
Evaluation of the Human Transmission Risk of an Atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Prion Strain
***These results suggest that, in humans, BASE is a more virulent BSE strain and likely lymphotropic.
http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/JVI.02561-07v1?papetoc
USA MAD COW CASES IN ALABAMA AND TEXAS
***PLEASE NOTE***
USA BASE CASE, (ATYPICAL BSE), AND OR TSE (whatever they are calling it today), please note that both the ALABAMA COW, AND THE TEXAS COW, both were ''H-TYPE'', personal communication Detwiler et al Wednesday, August 22, 2007 11:52 PM. ...TSS
http://lists.iatp.org/listarchive/archive.cfm?listID=147&startrow=1081
2009 UPDATE ON ALABAMA AND TEXAS MAD COWS 2005 and 2006
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2006/08/bse-atypical-texas-and-alabama-update.html
Monday, October 19, 2009
Atypical BSE, BSE, and other human and animal TSE in North America Update October 2009
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/10/atypical-bse-bse-and-other-human-and.html
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
R-CALF: 40 Groups Disagree With USDA's Latest BSE Court Submission
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/11/r-calf-40-groups-disagree-with-usdas.html
Monday, November 23, 2009
BSE GBR RISK ASSESSMENTS UPDATE NOVEMBER 23, 2009 COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND O.I.E.
http://docket-aphis-2006-0041.blogspot.com/2009/11/bse-gbr-risk-assessments-update.html
MARCH 2002
Livestock Mortalities:
Methods of Disposal and Their
Potential Costs
USDA/National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates that in the year 2000,
approximately 4.1 million cattle died before they could be sent to slaughter (Table 2). Of these, 2.4 million were calves (under 500 lbs), with the balance of 1.7 million over 6 months of age (or, as reported, in excess of 500 lbs). ....END...TSS
NASS
Non-Ambulatory
Cattle and Calves
Released May 5, 2005, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department
of Agriculture. For information on Non-ambulatory Cattle and Calves call Mike Miller at 720-3040, office hours 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. ET.
Cattle and Calves: Non-Ambulatory Number,
by Region and United States, 2003-2004
ALL NON-AMBULATORY CATTLE 2003 = 465,000
ALL NON-AMBULATORY CATTLE 2004 = 450,000
SNIP...END...TSS
Non-Ambulatory
Cattle and Calves
Released May 5, 2005, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department
of Agriculture. For information on Non-ambulatory Cattle and Calves call Mike Miller at 720-3040, office hours 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. ET.
Non-Ambulatory Cattle and Calves
Non-ambulatory cattle and calves in the United States totaled 465,000 head during 2003 and
450,000 head during 2004. The number of non-ambulatory cattle 500 pounds or greater totaled
280,000 head in 2003 and 270,000 head in 2004. The number of calves under 500 pounds reported
as non-ambulatory totaled 185,000 head in 2003 and 180,000 head in 2004. ...SNIP...END
August 2004
04-021ANPR 04-021ANPR-68 N/A
An Economic and Environmental Assessment of Eliminating Specified Risk Materials and Cattle Mortalities from Existing Markets
snip...
USDA estimates 1.7 103 million cattle and 2.3656 million calves died prior to slaughter in 20022, for a. total species count of just under 4.1 million deaths. In 2001, USDA reported just over 4.2 million species deaths. The next step is to determine the number of nonambulatory cattle in the United States. No one knows the exact number; however, USDA estimates approximately 200,000 per year based on a survey conducted of American Association of Bovine Practitioners members3, bringing the estimated total number of dead and downer cattle and calves to about 4.3 - 4.4 million per year, roughly consistent with FDA’s estimate of 4.6 million.
USDA does, not regularly report cattle deaths by type, i.e. beef or diary, but it periodically conducts an industry survey to provide a detailed breakdown of the cattle and calf death losses by class, state and size group. From their most recent survey4 it is estimated that 69.4% of cattle deaths and 68,7% of calf deaths are from beef animals, with dairy animals accounting for the remaining 30.6% and 31.3% of cattle and calf deaths, respectively. Given the absence of updated data and little reason to expect these proportions have changed meaningfully over time, we apply these factors to the USDA total cattle and calf death loss estimates reported above to estimate current cattle and calf death loss in the beef and dairy industries (Table 1).
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/DOCKETS/dailys/04/sep04/092104/04n-0264-c00142-vol22.pdf
Monday, October 19, 2009
Atypical BSE, BSE, and other human and animal TSE in North America Update
October 19, 2009
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/10/atypical-bse-bse-and-other-human-and.html
Sunday, September 6, 2009
MAD COW USA 1997 SECRET VIDEO
http://madcowusda.blogspot.com/2009/09/mad-cow-usa-1997-video.html
U.S.A. HIDING MAD COW DISEASE VICTIMS AS SPORADIC CJD ? see video at bottom
http://creutzfeldt-jakob-disease.blogspot.com/2009/07/usa-hiding-mad-cow-disease-victims-as.html
DAMNING TESTIMONY FROM STANLEY PRUSINER THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER ON PRIONS SPEAKING ABOUT ANN VENEMAN see video
http://maddeer.org/video/embedded/prusinerclip.html
2009 UPDATE ON ALABAMA AND TEXAS MAD COWS 2005 and 2006
http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2006/08/bse-atypical-texas-and-alabama-update.html
10,000,000+ LBS. of PROHIBITED BANNED MAD COW FEED I.E. MBM IN COMMERCE USA 2007
Date: March 21, 2007 at 2:27 pm PST RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINES -- CLASS II ___________________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk cattle feed made with recalled Darling’s 85% Blood Meal, Flash Dried, Recall # V-024-2007
CODE
Cattle feed delivered between 01/12/2007 and 01/26/2007
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Pfeiffer, Arno, Inc, Greenbush, WI. by conversation on February 5, 2007.
Firm initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Blood meal used to make cattle feed was recalled because it was cross-contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal that had been manufactured on common equipment and labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
42,090 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
WI
___________________________________
PRODUCT
Custom dairy premix products: MNM ALL PURPOSE Pellet, HILLSIDE/CDL Prot-Buffer Meal, LEE, M.-CLOSE UP PX Pellet, HIGH DESERT/ GHC LACT Meal, TATARKA, M CUST PROT Meal, SUNRIDGE/CDL PROTEIN Blend, LOURENZO, K PVM DAIRY Meal, DOUBLE B DAIRY/GHC LAC Mineral, WEST PIONT/GHC CLOSEUP Mineral, WEST POINT/GHC LACT Meal, JENKS, J/COMPASS PROTEIN Meal, COPPINI – 8# SPECIAL DAIRY Mix, GULICK, L-LACT Meal (Bulk), TRIPLE J – PROTEIN/LACTATION, ROCK CREEK/GHC MILK Mineral, BETTENCOURT/GHC S.SIDE MK-MN, BETTENCOURT #1/GHC MILK MINR, V&C DAIRY/GHC LACT Meal, VEENSTRA, F/GHC LACT Meal, SMUTNY, A-BYPASS ML W/SMARTA, Recall # V-025-2007
CODE
The firm does not utilize a code - only shipping documentation with commodity and weights identified.
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Rangen, Inc, Buhl, ID, by letters on February 13 and 14, 2007. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Products manufactured from bulk feed containing blood meal that was cross contaminated with prohibited meat and bone meal and the labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
9,997,976 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
ID and NV
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR MARCH 21, 2007
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2007/ENF00996.html
NEW URL
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/EnforcementReports/2007/ucm120446.htm
Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALL USA SEPT 6, 2006 1961.72 TONS IN COMMERCE AL, TN, AND WV
Date: September 6, 2006 at 7:58 am PST
PRODUCT
a) EVSRC Custom dairy feed, Recall # V-130-6; b) Performance Chick Starter, Recall # V-131-6; c) Performance Quail Grower, Recall # V-132-6; d) Performance Pheasant Finisher, Recall # V-133-6.
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Donaldson & Hasenbein/dba J&R Feed Service, Inc., Cullman, AL, by telephone on June 23, 2006 and by letter dated July 19, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Dairy and poultry feeds were possibly contaminated with ruminant based protein.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
477.72 tons
DISTRIBUTION
AL ______________________________
PRODUCT
a) Dairy feed, custom, Recall # V-134-6; b) Custom Dairy Feed with Monensin, Recall # V-135-6. CODE None. Bulk product
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Recalling Firm: Burkmann Feed, Greeneville, TN, by Telephone beginning on June 28, 2006.
Manufacturer: H. J. Baker & Bro., Inc., Albertville, AL. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Possible contamination of dairy feeds with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
1,484 tons
DISTRIBUTION
TN and WV
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2006/ENF00968.html
Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALLS ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR AUGUST 9, 2006 KY, LA, MS, AL, GA, AND TN 11,000+ TONS
Date: August 16, 2006 at 9:19 am PST
RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINE - CLASS II ______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk custom made dairy feed, Recall # V-115-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Hiseville Feed & Seed Co., Hiseville, KY, by telephone and letter on or about July 14, 2006. FDA initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Custom made feeds contain ingredient called Pro-Lak which may contain ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
Approximately 2,223 tons
DISTRIBUTION
KY
______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk custom made dairy feed, Recall # V-116-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Rips Farm Center, Tollesboro, KY, by telephone and letter on July 14, 2006. FDA initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Custom made feeds contain ingredient called Pro-Lak which may contain ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
1,220 tons
DISTRIBUTION
KY
______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk custom made dairy feed, Recall # V-117-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Kentwood Co-op, Kentwood, LA, by telephone on June 27, 2006. FDA initiated recall is completed.
REASON
Possible contamination of animal feed ingredients, including ingredients that are used in feed for dairy animals, with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
40 tons
DISTRIBUTION
LA and MS
______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk Dairy Feed, Recall V-118-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Cal Maine Foods, Inc., Edwards, MS, by telephone on June 26, 2006. FDA initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Possible contamination of animal feed ingredients, including ingredients that are used in feed for dairy animals, with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
7,150 tons
DISTRIBUTION
MS
______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk custom dairy pre-mixes, Recall # V-119-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Walthall County Co-op, Tylertown, MS, by telephone on June 26, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Possible contamination of dairy animal feeds with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
87 tons
DISTRIBUTION
MS
______________________________
PRODUCT
Bulk custom dairy pre-mixes, Recall # V-120-6
CODE None
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Ware Milling Inc., Houston, MS, by telephone on June 23, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Possible contamination of dairy animal feeds with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
350 tons
DISTRIBUTION
AL and MS
______________________________
PRODUCT
a) Tucker Milling, LLC Tm 32% Sinking Fish Grower, #2680-Pellet, 50 lb. bags, Recall # V-121-6; b) Tucker Milling, LLC #31120, Game Bird Breeder Pellet, 50 lb. bags, Recall # V-122-6; c) Tucker Milling, LLC #31232 Game Bird Grower, 50 lb. bags, Recall # V-123-6; d) Tucker Milling, LLC 31227-Crumble, Game Bird Starter, BMD Medicated, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-124-6; e) Tucker Milling, LLC #31120, Game Bird Breeder, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-125-6; f) Tucker Milling, LLC #30230, 30 % Turkey Starter, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-126-6; g) Tucker Milling, LLC #30116, TM Broiler Finisher, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-127-6
CODE
All products manufactured from 02/01/2005 until 06/20/2006
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Recalling Firm: Tucker Milling LLC, Guntersville, AL, by telephone and visit on June 20, 2006, and by letter on June 23, 2006. Manufacturer: H. J. Baker and Brothers Inc., Stamford, CT. Firm initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Poultry and fish feeds which were possibly contaminated with ruminant based protein were not labeled as "Do not feed to ruminants".
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
7,541-50 lb bags
DISTRIBUTION
AL, GA, MS, and TN
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR AUGUST 9, 2006
###
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ENFORCE/2006/ENF00964.html
Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALL MI MAMMALIAN PROTEIN VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE 27,694,240 lbs
Date: August 6, 2006 at 6:14 pm PST
PRODUCT
Bulk custom dairy feds manufactured from concentrates, Recall # V-113-6
CODE
All dairy feeds produced between 2/1/05 and 6/16/06 and containing H. J. Baker recalled feed products.
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Vita Plus Corp., Gagetown, MI, by visit beginning on June 21, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.
REASON
The feed was manufactured from materials that may have been contaminated with mammalian protein.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
27,694,240 lbs
DISTRIBUTION
MI
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR AUGUST 2, 2006
###
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2006/ENF00963.html
THIS LIST IS ENDLESS, SEE FULL TEXT MAD COW PROTEIN SRMs IN COMMERCE. remember this, .005 gram of mad cow tainted material is lethal enough to kill one cow. ...tss
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/01/january-2008-update-on-feed-enforcement.html
Geographical BSE Risk (GBR) assessments covering 2000-2006
Date : 01.08.2006
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/Scientific_Document/GBR_assessments_table_Overview_assessed_countries_2002-2006.pdf
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
Our prior report identified a number of inherent problems in identifying and testing high-risk cattle. We reported that the challenges in identifying the universe of high-risk cattle, as well as the need to design procedures to obtain an appropriate representation of samples, was critical to the success of the BSE surveillance program. The surveillance program was designed to target nonambulatory cattle, cattle showing signs of CNS disease (including cattle testing negative for rabies), cattle showing signs not inconsistent with BSE, and dead cattle. Although APHIS designed procedures to ensure FSIS condemned cattle were sampled and made a concerted effort for outreach to obtain targeted samples, industry practices not considered in the design of the surveillance program reduced assurance that targeted animals were tested for BSE.
USDA/OIG-A/50601-10-KC Page 27
observe these animals ante mortem when possible to assure the animals from the target population are ultimately sampled and the clinical signs evaluated.
snip...
http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/50601-10-KC.pdf
GAO-05-51 October 2004 FOOD SAFETY
over 500 customers receiving potentially BSE contaminated beef .....
* GAO-05-51 October 2004 FOOD SAFETY (over 500 customers receiving potentially BSE contaminated beef) - TSS 10/20/04
October 2004 FOOD SAFETY USDA and FDA Need to Better Ensure Prompt and Complete Recalls of Potentially Unsafe Food
snip...
REPORTS
1. Food Safety: USDA and FDA Need to Better Ensure Prompt and Complete Recalls of Potentially Unsafe Food. GAO-05-51, October 7.tss
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0551.pdf
Highlights -
http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0551high.pdf
3. Mad Cow Disease: FDA's Management of the Feed Ban Has Improved, but Oversight Weaknesses Continue to Limit Program Effectiveness. GAO-05-101, Feb. 25.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-101
Highlights -
www.gao.gov/highlights/d05101high.pdf
SADLY, DEC 2005 SHOWS THAT WE STILL HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH BSE/TSE MAD COW DISEASE FEED
GAO
GAO-06-157R FDA Feed Testing Program
October 11, 2005
SNIP...FULL TEXT 29 PAGES ;
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06157r.pdf
Mad Cow Disease: An Evaluation of a Small Feed Testing Program FDA Implemented in 2003 With Recommendations for Making the Program a Better Oversight Tool. GAO-06-157R, October 11
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-157R
PrPSc distribution of a natural case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Yoshifumi Iwamaru, Yuka Okubo, Tamako Ikeda, Hiroko Hayashi, Mori- kazu Imamura, Takashi Yokoyama and Morikazu Shinagawa Priori Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba 305-0856 Japan gan@affrc.go.jp
Abstract
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a disease of cattle that causes progressive neurodegeneration of the central nervous system. Infectivity of BSE agent is accompanied with an abnormal isoform of prion protein (PrPSc). The specified risk materials (SRM) are tissues potentially carrying BSE infectivity. The following tissues are designated as SRM in Japan: the skull including the brain and eyes but excluding the glossa and the masse- ter muscle, the vertebral column excluding the vertebrae of the tail, spinal cord, distal illeum. For a risk management step, the use of SRM in both animal feed or human food has been prohibited. However, detailed PrPSc distribution remains obscure in BSE cattle and it has caused controversies about definitions of SRM. Therefore we have examined PrPSc distribution in a BSE cattle by Western blotting to reassess definitions of SRM. The 11th BSE case in Japan was detected in fallen stock surveillance. The carcass was stocked in the refrigerator. For the detection of PrPSc, 200 mg of tissue samples were homogenized. Following collagenase treatment, samples were digested with proteinase K. After digestion, PrPSc was precipitated by sodium phosphotungstate (PTA). The pellets were subjected to Western blotting using the standard procedure. Anti-prion protein monoclonal antibody (mAb) T2 conjugated horseradish peroxidase was used for the detection of PrPSc. PrPSc was detected in brain, spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia, trigeminal ganglia, sublingual ganglion, retina. In addition, PrPSc was also detected in the peripheral nerves (sciatic nerve, tibial nerve, vagus nerve). Our results suggest that the currently accepted definitions of SRM in 9/13/2005
179 Page 10 of 17
BSE cattle may need to be reexamined.
T. Kitamoto (Ed.) PRIONS Food and Drug Safety
================
ALSO from the International Symposium of Prion Diseases held in Sendai, October 31, to November 2, 2004; Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Japan
snip...
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/03-025IFA/03-025IFA-2.pdf
Detection and Localization of PrPSc in the Skeletal Muscle Thu Mar 2, 2006 10:40 70.110.86.250
© 2006 American Society for Investigative Pathology
Detection and Localization of PrPSc in the Skeletal Muscle of Patients with Variant, Iatrogenic, and Sporadic Forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Alexander H. Peden, Diane L. Ritchie, Mark W. Head and James W. Ironside From the National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit and Division of Pathology, School of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) differs from other human prion diseases in that the pathogenic prion protein PrPSc can be detected to a greater extent at extraneuronal sites throughout the body, principally within lymphoid tissues. However, a recent study using a high-sensitivity Western blotting technique revealed low levels of PrPSc in skeletal muscle from a quarter of Swiss patients with sporadic CJD (sCJD). This posed the question of whether PrPSc in muscle could also be detected in vCJD, sCJD, and iatrogenic (iCJD) patients from other populations. Therefore, we have used the same high-sensitivity Western blotting technique, in combination with paraffin-embedded tissue blotting, to screen for PrPSc in muscle tissue specimens taken at autopsy from 49 CJD patients in the United Kingdom. These techniques identified muscle PrPSc in 8 of 17 vCJD, 7 of 26 sCJD, and 2 of 5 iCJD patients. Paraffin-embedded tissue blotting analysis showed PrPSc in skeletal muscle in localized anatomical structures that had the morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics of nerve fibers. The detection of PrPSc in muscle tissue from all forms of CJD indicates the possible presence of infectivity in these tissues, suggesting important implications for assessing the potential risk of iatrogenic spread via contaminated surgical instruments.
http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/content/abstract/168/3/927
Prions in Skeletal Muscles of Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease
Rachel C. Angers,1* Shawn R. Browning,1*† Tanya S. Seward,2 Christina J. Sigurdson,4‡ Michael W. Miller,5 Edward A. Hoover,4 Glenn C. Telling1,2,3§ 1Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, 2Sanders Brown Center on Aging, 3Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. 4Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. 5Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA. *These authors contributed equally to this work. †Present address: Department of Infectology, Scripps Research Institute, 5353 Parkside Drive, RF-2, Jupiter, Florida, 33458, USA. ‡Present address: Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland. §To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: gtell2@uky.edu
Prions are transmissible proteinaceous agents of mammals that cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The presence of infectivity in skeletal muscle of experimentally infected mice raised the possibility that dietary exposure to prions might occur through meat consumption (1). Chronic wasting disease (CWD), an enigmatic and contagious prion disease of North American cervids, is of particular concern. The emergence of CWD in an increasingly wide geographic area and the interspecies transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to humans as variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) have raised concerns about zoonotic transmission of CWD. To test whether skeletal muscle of diseased cervids.........SNIP....END...TSS
Monday, February 4, 2008
USDA CERTIFIED H-BASE MAD COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
PLEASE NOTE, this disgusting video is just another example of just how terribly flawed the BSE surveillance and testing program has been over the past decades.
THIS video also proves what the GAO and OIG have been stating for years, that HIGH RISK SUSPECT MAD COW animals have been entering the food chain in the USA for years, and fed to humans and animals for human consumption. LET know one tell you any different, this plant is but one of many, they just got caught $$$
did you check out the waterboarding, without the board, of the high risk suspect mad cow with the high pressure water hose $
what has happened to humanity $
what have we become as humans $
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/usda-certified-h-base-mad-cow-school.html
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Release No. 0046.08 Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer Regarding Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company Two Year Product Recall Release No. 0046.08 Contact: USDA Press Office (202) 720-4623
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/release-no-004608-statement-by.html
SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM FROM DOWNER CATTLE UPDATE
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
Blog Archive
2008 (8)
March (6)
California DOWNER COW meat worker: I was following...
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/california-downer-cow-meat-worker-i-was.html
USDA QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS HALLMARK/WESTLAND MEAT
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/usda-questions-and-answers.html
USDA to Hallmark: We want our plaque back
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/usda-to-hallmark-we-want-our-plaque.html
House committee subpoenas Hallmark/Westland CEO
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/house-committee-subpoenas.html
California lists possible recipients of recalled
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/california-lists-possible-recipients-of.html
To the hard working employees of USDA and
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/to-hard-working-employees-of-usda-and.html
February (2)
BEEF RECALL NATIONWIDE - SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM UPDATE
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html
TRANSCRIPT: Technical Briefing - Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/
TSS
Saturday, March 8, 2008
California DOWNER COW meat worker: I was following orders
Saturday, March 8, 2008 California DOWNER COW meat worker: I was following orders Calif. meat worker: I was following orders
ADELANTO, Calif. (AP) — A former slaughterhouse worker who was videotaped abusing ailing cattle in a case that led to the largest beef recall in U.S. history said in a jailhouse interview that he was only following orders.
Luis Sanchez said he felt bad when he saw how the cows were treated at Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., and insisted his boss taught him to use a forklift to move so-called downer cows along the slaughter line.
HISTORIC RECALL: Meat plant concerns raised for years
LEGAL LOOPHOLE: Government sued over ailing cattle
"That's how I was taught. He taught me to do the work. I didn't know it was a serious crime," Sanchez told the San Bernardino Sun in an interview published Friday.
Sanchez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was being held at the Adelanto Detention Center on immigration charges. He was charged with animal cruelty in the slaughterhouse case, but he also faced charges in two unrelated drug cases.
Sanchez's ex-boss, Daniel Ugarte Navarro, 49, has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of animal abuse and three misdemeanor counts of illegal movement of a non-ambulatory animal. The counts carry a maximum prison sentence of 5 years, 8 months, prosecutors have said.
Navarro will be assigned an attorney by the county public defender's office at his March 24 arraignment.
Last month, the Agriculture Department issued the recall after the Humane Society of the United States released undercover video of workers forcing sick and crippled cows to stand with electric prods and forklifts.
Sanchez appeared in the video using an electric prod.
Sanchez said he learned the company was handling the cows differently than other slaughterhouses from truck drivers who brought the animals to the plant. He said his supervisor told the workers to use care when federal inspectors were around.
Sanchez, who first came to the slaughterhouse about 10 years ago, said he doesn't understand why he's in jail.
"I think it's unjust that I'm here. Where are the people in charge?" he told the newspaper.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2008-03-08-slaughterhouse-abuse_N.htm
Calif. meat worker: I was following orders
no doubt! i believe the guy, and i believe this practice of allowing downers into the food supply is wide spread.
here is just one more example $$$
Originally posted by worried about the industry
If the sick cattle don't get into the cooler how can anybody make a profit?
It is people like you that will cause the beef industry to colapse with your attitude. Get real. And if you believe as you say I hope you get the first bite of that sick animal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3/6/2008 1:46 PM Posted By: GW =====================================================snip...end...TSS
YOU REALLY DON'T THINK that all these downers are just buried $$$
Animal Mortality Figures
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates 1.7103 million cattle and 2.3656 million calves died prior to slaughter in 2002, for a total of just under 4.1 million deaths.
snip...
Cattle, however, with their heavier body weights, comprise approximately 67 percent of the total weight of all mammalian livestock mortalities. In 2002, the total weight for cattle was 2.7 billion pounds. Beef cattle account for the largest proportion of farm, ranch, and feedlot mortality, in respect to weight.
snip...
Focus on Non-Ambulatory Cattle
Non-ambulatory cattle have been estimated by USDA to be approximately 200,000 head per year based on a 1999 American Association of Bovine Practitioners survey.(2) It is proposed that this estimate understates the condition by not fully accounting for feedlot cattle of younger ages commonly affected with metabolic and or respiratory disorders that often present neurological-like clinical symptoms and thus described as non-ambulatory. It is impossible to give accurate figures on incidence because of variations in nomenclature and the accuracy of diagnosis. Because it is a syndrome until an accurate diagnosis is confirmed, the exact incidence is speculative.
http://www.rendermagazine.com/October2004/TechTopics.html
MARCH 2002
Livestock Mortalities:
Methods of Disposal and Their
Potential Costs
USDA/National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates that in the year 2000,
approximately 4.1 million cattle died before they could be sent to slaughter (Table 2). Of these, 2.4 million were calves (under 500 lbs), with the balance of 1.7 million over 6 months of age (or, as reported, in excess of 500 lbs). ....END...TSS
NASS
Non-Ambulatory
Cattle and Calves
Released May 5, 2005, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department
of Agriculture. For information on Non-ambulatory Cattle and Calves call Mike Miller at 720-3040, office hours 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. ET.
Cattle and Calves: Non-Ambulatory Number,
by Region and United States, 2003-2004
ALL CATTLE 2003 = 465,000
ALL CATTLE 2004 = 450,000
SNIP...END...TSS
Non-Ambulatory
Cattle and Calves
Released May 5, 2005, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department
of Agriculture. For information on Non-ambulatory Cattle and Calves call Mike Miller at 720-3040, office hours 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. ET.
Non-Ambulatory Cattle and Calves
Non-ambulatory cattle and calves in the United States totaled 465,000 head during 2003 and
450,000 head during 2004. The number of non-ambulatory cattle 500 pounds or greater totaled
280,000 head in 2003 and 270,000 head in 2004. The number of calves under 500 pounds reported
as non-ambulatory totaled 185,000 head in 2003 and 180,000 head in 2004.
...SNIP...END...TSS
Friday, March 7, 2008
USDA QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS HALLMARK/WESTLAND MEAT PACKING CO. March 6, 2008
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS HALLMARK/WESTLAND MEAT PACKING CO.
March 6, 2008
Consumer Concerns
Q. My child/school recently consumed Hallmark/Westland products. What is the risk to children's health?
SEE FULL TEXT ;
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/usda-questions-and-answers.html
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
BEEF RECALL NATIONWIDE - SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM UPDATE
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/beef-recall-nationwide-school-lunch.html
Thursday, March 6, 2008
California lists possible recipients of recalled non-ambulatory 'DOWNER' (high potential for TSE) Hallmark beef
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/california-lists-possible-recipients-of.html
Thursday, March 6, 2008
House committee subpoenas Hallmark/Westland CEO - i call for an investigation of the investigators
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/house-committee-subpoenas.html
Thursday, March 6, 2008
USDA to Hallmark: We want our plaque back Legal/Regulatory News
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/usda-to-hallmark-we-want-our-plaque.html
Thursday, March 6, 2008
To the hard working employees of USDA and their untiring efforts to protect our childrens food supply
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/to-hard-working-employees-of-usda-and.html
In this context, a word is in order about the US testing program. After the discovery of the first (imported) cow in 2003, the magnitude of testing was much increased, reaching a level of >400,000 tests in 2005 (Figure 4). Neither of the 2 more recently indigenously infected older animals with nonspecific clinical features would have been detected without such testing, and neither would have been identified as atypical without confirmatory Western blots. Despite these facts, surveillance has now been decimated to 40,000 annual tests (USDA news release no. 0255.06, July 20, 2006) and invites the accusation that the United States will never know the true status of its involvement with BSE.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no12/06-0965.htm
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."
http://lists.iatp.org/listarchive/archive.cfm?listID=147&startrow=1081
3/6/2008
i call for an investigation of the investigators
House committee subpoenas Hallmark/Westland CEO The subpoena orders him to testify at a March 12 hearing titled "Regulatory Failure: Must America Live With Unsafe Food?"<<< what a hoot. the ones that should be subpoenad and held accountable are the very ones on the committee. they have failed the public for years about BSE risk and regulations. the very people that are going to investigate this thing are the very folks responsible for all the children and elderly that were exposed to the potential of mad cow via non-ambulatory i.e. DOWNERS, the most likely to have a TSE. waxman et al have been claiming to be concerned about BSE aka mad cow disease's and one issue was the non-ambulatory 'downer' cattle, and i quote waxman; Failure To Test Staggering Cow May Reflect Wider Problems Rep. Waxman raises concerns that the recent failure of USDA to test an impaired cow for BSE may not be an isolated incident, citing the failure of USDA to monitor whether cows condemned for central nervous system symptoms are actually tested for mad cow disease.
http://reform.democrats.house.gov/documents/20040607142914-86912.pdf
http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20040607142914-86912.pdf
folks, that was in 2004. why, in 2008, why are we still discussing the same failures $$$
THE PEOPLE BELOW SHOULD ALL BE SUBPOENAED AS WELL FOR THEIR CONTINUED FAILURES TO PROTECT THE CONSUMER FROM MAD COW DISEASE. and i call for an investigation of the investigators below. why in 2008 are we still floundering $$$
Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
http://energycommerce.house.gov/Subcommittees/ovin.shtml
CJD QUESTIONNAIRE
http://cjdquestionnaire.blogspot.com/
Specified Risk Material SRM see tons and tons of BANNED mad cow feed SRMs IN COMMERCE USA, the other safe guard USDA et al keeps boasting about, that has failed terribly along with the BSE surveillance and BSE testing protocols. see for yourself ;
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. P.O. Box 42 Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
ADELANTO, Calif. (AP) — A former slaughterhouse worker who was videotaped abusing ailing cattle in a case that led to the largest beef recall in U.S. history said in a jailhouse interview that he was only following orders.
Luis Sanchez said he felt bad when he saw how the cows were treated at Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., and insisted his boss taught him to use a forklift to move so-called downer cows along the slaughter line.
HISTORIC RECALL: Meat plant concerns raised for years
LEGAL LOOPHOLE: Government sued over ailing cattle
"That's how I was taught. He taught me to do the work. I didn't know it was a serious crime," Sanchez told the San Bernardino Sun in an interview published Friday.
Sanchez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was being held at the Adelanto Detention Center on immigration charges. He was charged with animal cruelty in the slaughterhouse case, but he also faced charges in two unrelated drug cases.
Sanchez's ex-boss, Daniel Ugarte Navarro, 49, has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of animal abuse and three misdemeanor counts of illegal movement of a non-ambulatory animal. The counts carry a maximum prison sentence of 5 years, 8 months, prosecutors have said.
Navarro will be assigned an attorney by the county public defender's office at his March 24 arraignment.
Last month, the Agriculture Department issued the recall after the Humane Society of the United States released undercover video of workers forcing sick and crippled cows to stand with electric prods and forklifts.
Sanchez appeared in the video using an electric prod.
Sanchez said he learned the company was handling the cows differently than other slaughterhouses from truck drivers who brought the animals to the plant. He said his supervisor told the workers to use care when federal inspectors were around.
Sanchez, who first came to the slaughterhouse about 10 years ago, said he doesn't understand why he's in jail.
"I think it's unjust that I'm here. Where are the people in charge?" he told the newspaper.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2008-03-08-slaughterhouse-abuse_N.htm
Calif. meat worker: I was following orders
no doubt! i believe the guy, and i believe this practice of allowing downers into the food supply is wide spread.
here is just one more example $$$
Originally posted by worried about the industry
If the sick cattle don't get into the cooler how can anybody make a profit?
It is people like you that will cause the beef industry to colapse with your attitude. Get real. And if you believe as you say I hope you get the first bite of that sick animal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3/6/2008 1:46 PM Posted By: GW =====================================================snip...end...TSS
YOU REALLY DON'T THINK that all these downers are just buried $$$
Animal Mortality Figures
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates 1.7103 million cattle and 2.3656 million calves died prior to slaughter in 2002, for a total of just under 4.1 million deaths.
snip...
Cattle, however, with their heavier body weights, comprise approximately 67 percent of the total weight of all mammalian livestock mortalities. In 2002, the total weight for cattle was 2.7 billion pounds. Beef cattle account for the largest proportion of farm, ranch, and feedlot mortality, in respect to weight.
snip...
Focus on Non-Ambulatory Cattle
Non-ambulatory cattle have been estimated by USDA to be approximately 200,000 head per year based on a 1999 American Association of Bovine Practitioners survey.(2) It is proposed that this estimate understates the condition by not fully accounting for feedlot cattle of younger ages commonly affected with metabolic and or respiratory disorders that often present neurological-like clinical symptoms and thus described as non-ambulatory. It is impossible to give accurate figures on incidence because of variations in nomenclature and the accuracy of diagnosis. Because it is a syndrome until an accurate diagnosis is confirmed, the exact incidence is speculative.
http://www.rendermagazine.com/October2004/TechTopics.html
MARCH 2002
Livestock Mortalities:
Methods of Disposal and Their
Potential Costs
USDA/National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates that in the year 2000,
approximately 4.1 million cattle died before they could be sent to slaughter (Table 2). Of these, 2.4 million were calves (under 500 lbs), with the balance of 1.7 million over 6 months of age (or, as reported, in excess of 500 lbs). ....END...TSS
NASS
Non-Ambulatory
Cattle and Calves
Released May 5, 2005, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department
of Agriculture. For information on Non-ambulatory Cattle and Calves call Mike Miller at 720-3040, office hours 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. ET.
Cattle and Calves: Non-Ambulatory Number,
by Region and United States, 2003-2004
ALL CATTLE 2003 = 465,000
ALL CATTLE 2004 = 450,000
SNIP...END...TSS
Non-Ambulatory
Cattle and Calves
Released May 5, 2005, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department
of Agriculture. For information on Non-ambulatory Cattle and Calves call Mike Miller at 720-3040, office hours 7:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. ET.
Non-Ambulatory Cattle and Calves
Non-ambulatory cattle and calves in the United States totaled 465,000 head during 2003 and
450,000 head during 2004. The number of non-ambulatory cattle 500 pounds or greater totaled
280,000 head in 2003 and 270,000 head in 2004. The number of calves under 500 pounds reported
as non-ambulatory totaled 185,000 head in 2003 and 180,000 head in 2004.
...SNIP...END...TSS
Friday, March 7, 2008
USDA QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS HALLMARK/WESTLAND MEAT PACKING CO. March 6, 2008
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS HALLMARK/WESTLAND MEAT PACKING CO.
March 6, 2008
Consumer Concerns
Q. My child/school recently consumed Hallmark/Westland products. What is the risk to children's health?
SEE FULL TEXT ;
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/usda-questions-and-answers.html
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
BEEF RECALL NATIONWIDE - SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM UPDATE
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/02/beef-recall-nationwide-school-lunch.html
Thursday, March 6, 2008
California lists possible recipients of recalled non-ambulatory 'DOWNER' (high potential for TSE) Hallmark beef
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/california-lists-possible-recipients-of.html
Thursday, March 6, 2008
House committee subpoenas Hallmark/Westland CEO - i call for an investigation of the investigators
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/house-committee-subpoenas.html
Thursday, March 6, 2008
USDA to Hallmark: We want our plaque back Legal/Regulatory News
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/usda-to-hallmark-we-want-our-plaque.html
Thursday, March 6, 2008
To the hard working employees of USDA and their untiring efforts to protect our childrens food supply
http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/to-hard-working-employees-of-usda-and.html
In this context, a word is in order about the US testing program. After the discovery of the first (imported) cow in 2003, the magnitude of testing was much increased, reaching a level of >400,000 tests in 2005 (Figure 4). Neither of the 2 more recently indigenously infected older animals with nonspecific clinical features would have been detected without such testing, and neither would have been identified as atypical without confirmatory Western blots. Despite these facts, surveillance has now been decimated to 40,000 annual tests (USDA news release no. 0255.06, July 20, 2006) and invites the accusation that the United States will never know the true status of its involvement with BSE.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no12/06-0965.htm
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."
http://lists.iatp.org/listarchive/archive.cfm?listID=147&startrow=1081
3/6/2008
i call for an investigation of the investigators
House committee subpoenas Hallmark/Westland CEO The subpoena orders him to testify at a March 12 hearing titled "Regulatory Failure: Must America Live With Unsafe Food?"<<< what a hoot. the ones that should be subpoenad and held accountable are the very ones on the committee. they have failed the public for years about BSE risk and regulations. the very people that are going to investigate this thing are the very folks responsible for all the children and elderly that were exposed to the potential of mad cow via non-ambulatory i.e. DOWNERS, the most likely to have a TSE. waxman et al have been claiming to be concerned about BSE aka mad cow disease's and one issue was the non-ambulatory 'downer' cattle, and i quote waxman; Failure To Test Staggering Cow May Reflect Wider Problems Rep. Waxman raises concerns that the recent failure of USDA to test an impaired cow for BSE may not be an isolated incident, citing the failure of USDA to monitor whether cows condemned for central nervous system symptoms are actually tested for mad cow disease.
http://reform.democrats.house.gov/documents/20040607142914-86912.pdf
http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20040607142914-86912.pdf
folks, that was in 2004. why, in 2008, why are we still discussing the same failures $$$
THE PEOPLE BELOW SHOULD ALL BE SUBPOENAED AS WELL FOR THEIR CONTINUED FAILURES TO PROTECT THE CONSUMER FROM MAD COW DISEASE. and i call for an investigation of the investigators below. why in 2008 are we still floundering $$$
Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
http://energycommerce.house.gov/Subcommittees/ovin.shtml
CJD QUESTIONNAIRE
http://cjdquestionnaire.blogspot.com/
Specified Risk Material SRM see tons and tons of BANNED mad cow feed SRMs IN COMMERCE USA, the other safe guard USDA et al keeps boasting about, that has failed terribly along with the BSE surveillance and BSE testing protocols. see for yourself ;
http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html
Terry S. Singeltary Sr. P.O. Box 42 Bacliff, Texas USA 77518
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