OT: USDA Bans Risky Cow Parts from Hamburger Production
nlm.nih.gov
MEDLINE Plus, Reuters
By Randy Fabi
Wednesday , December 31, 2003
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. hamburger derived from special meat trimming equipment cannot contain any central nervous system material that could spread mad cow disease, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Tuesday.
Some 30 U.S. beef processing plants use special equipment, known in the industry as an "advanced meat recovery" system, to strip and scrape tiny bits of beef from cattle bones. Companies use the technology to reduce hand trimming by employees and to maximize production of meat for hamburger.
Consumer groups have criticized the special trimming equipment because particles of spinal cord and central nervous tissue can inadvertently contaminate hamburger.
A week after finding the first U.S. case of mad cow disease, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said beef from advanced meat recovery equipment can no longer contain skulls from older cattle, the dorsal root ganglia and nerve cells connected to the spinal cord. The USDA already bans spinal cord in advanced meat recovery products.
An infected animal's brain, spinal cord and other central nervous tissue are considered high-risk material for spreading mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
"Like spinal cord, the dorsal root ganglia may also contain BSE infectivity if the animal is infected," the USDA said. Skulls from cattle 30 months and older are also prohibited.
USDA officials said advanced meat recovery equipment was not used to trim beef from the infected dairy cow from Washington state.
About 45 million pounds of the 26.5 billion pounds of beef produced each year is from advanced meat recovery equipment, according to the industry.
Under the new rule, U.S. beef plants will have to routinely test their beef products to verify that they do not contain these risky materials. The rule is effective immediately after publication in the Federal Register, expected in the next few days.
A USDA survey found about 35 percent of beef products produced by these plants contained bits of the animals' spinal cords. However, the American Meat Institute, a trade group, said last week that figure was outdated and the rate of contamination was "probably" less than 10 percent today.
Officials with the meat industry group also estimated that an outright ban on using advanced meat recovery technology would cost about $200 million a year in lost sales.
The USDA in March began routine testing for tiny bits of spinal cord in beef at processing plants. The department had depended on federal meat inspectors to spot-check the meat for any central nervous material.
The USDA also said it would prohibit the use of "mechanically separated" meat in human food. A USDA spokesman said this type of meat is known to contain a cow's spinal cord. No U.S. beef plants currently use this equipment, the USDA said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters
Related MEDLINEplus Pages:
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease - nlm.nih.gov
Food Safety - nlm.nih.gov |
