From foodconsumer.org
USDA resists calls for a complete ban on downers
By Ben Wasserman
Feb 28, 2008 - 3:31:45 PM
THURSDAY FEB 28, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- The recall of 143 million lbs of beef may have come to an end. But concerns about beef safety remain. The Senate now is considering a complete ban on processing downer cattle into human food, the Associate Press reported today.
What triggered the recall, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Services, was that Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino, Calif., the meat processor and packer of concern, on several occasions did not report downers after passing inspection to a USDA Public Health Veterinarian.
When a cow comes down on the way to slaughter house after preliminary inspection, the plant is required to report it to the US public health veterinarian for further inspection to judge whether the cow is fit enough to be used as human food.
Instead, workers at the plant used cruel techniques including water-boarding as Reuters called it to force the sick or crippled cattle to stand on their feet and walk into the slaughter box, as revealed in an undercover video taped by the Humane Society of the United States.
Downers, cattle that can't walk on the way to the slaughterhouse, are at high risk of suffering mad cow disease, early studies showed. Other likely diseases include E coli and Salmonella among others.
Agriculture Secretary Edward T. Schafer said repeatedly that the risk of acquiring mad cow disease through eating the recalled meat is minimal. "It is extremely unlikely that the mishandled animals pose a risk to human health," said Schafer, quoted by the Associated Press.
Democratic senators did not buy it so fast.
"If you are there saying absolutely that meat was OK for everyone to eat then why was it recalled?" Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa asked, quoted by the AP.
Government officials early emphasized three points to comfort worried consumers. First, the food processed in the US is among the safest. Second, the USDA has a few measures such as a feed ban in place to prevent mad cow disease. And the third is that only two cases of mad cow disease have been detected in the US since 2003 when the first mad cow was reported in Washington State, meaning that it is unlikely for the US downers to harbor the fatal brain disease.
Those who are paying attention to the history of US mad cow cases may know a few disturbing facts.
First, detection and confirmation of mad cow disease in US cattle are not easy. For one case, it took two countries (US and UK) and three laboratories to confirm the case.
Also, the feed ban probably does not work as effectively as thought. Canada has a similar ban in position. But the country keeps reporting mad cow disease in Canadian cattle even after the ban was imposed.
Anyway, Democratic senators are unhappy with the USDA rules that require slaughterhouse officials to call a veterinarian back if a cow comes down after initial inspection.
"I think that's a very poor requirement," Harkin was quoted by the AP as saying. "Talk about the fox guarding the hen house. This is a classic case of it."
The Humane Society of the United States sued the USDA for the rules and claimed that there is a loophole.
After the hearing on the issue held today by the Senate Appropriations agriculture subcommittee, Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin, chairman of the committee, said he would consider legislation to ban all downer cattle from being processed into human food.
Schafer testified at the hearing saying that it was unfair to ban downers that may just have a broken leg or hip from being processed into food.