I found this on the net and its dated sep 30.
mop-up what should have been prevented at the industry's end," she
said. In addition to rasing awareness about E. coli, participants will
also demand that the industry not turn o irradiation as a way of
cleaning up the nation's meat supply. "Exposing dirty meat to
radiation the equivalent of 30 million chest X-rays will not make it
safe," said Food & Water executive dector Michael Colby.
"Consumers want real solutions to the meat contamination problem,
not dangerous gimmicks like irradiation that leave carcinogenic
residues, deplete nutritional quality and threaten the environment."
The news conference will take place at the nnual meeting of the
American Meat Institute, where former housing secretary Jack Kemp
will be the featured speaker. For more information contct Food &
Water, Depot Hill Road, RR 1 Box 11, Marshfield, VT 05658, Tel:
(802) 426-3700.
The event is timely in light of a recent outbreak of E. coli poisoning in
New York state. The illnesses of at least nine people have been
traced back to contaminated meat at an Oktoberfest in Rochester,
New York earlier this month. Twenty other cases are being
investigated by the state health department. Gerald Moore, a
spokesperson for the state Department of Agriculture and Markets,
was quick to point out that "the experts at this point are inclined to
think it's probably the result f improper handling of food at the
site."
Reports out of Florida indicate that the nation's only irradiation plant
is struggling tosurvive. The Food Technology Service, formerly
known as Vindicator, blames its lack of activity on the USDA's slow
progress in approving irradiation and standard packaging for meat.
The company was recently told that it could not package its
irradiated poultry in polystyrene trays, but instead must use
polystyrene film, which costs several cents more. The company
reportedly has but one customer for its irradiated products -- he
Carrot Top store in the Chicago suburb of Glenview.
Source: "E Coli Victims' Advocate and Food Safety Group Urge Meat
Industry to Clean Up Its Act," FOOD & WATER PRESS RELEASE,
September 29, 1994; "E. Coli Outbreak," AP, September 23, 1994;
"Food Irradiation Plant is Struggling," AGRI NEWS, September 8,
1994.
EPA STUDY: MEAT, MILK SOURCES OF DIOXIN
According to a draft dioxin reassessment document released by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this month, meat an
dairy products constitute a source of low-level dioxin exposure,
which has been linked to cancer in humans. The 2,000-page report
does not go so far as to label dioxin as a known crcinogen; owever,
it makes the recommendation that more studies are needed. Dioxin
has heretofore been mainly associated with Agent Orange,
incineration and other by-products of chlorine chemistry. For the
first time, the EPA study concludes that dioxins have the ability to
invade fish, meat and dairy products. For example, people living
near the Great Lakes, where concentrations of dioxin have been high
in lake fish, have experienced changes in hormone levels and other
adverse health effects. Assistant EPA Administrator Lynn Goldman
said exposure to low levels of dioxin "is primarily via airborne
dioxins tat settle on plants and that are passed on through the food
chain associated particularly with fat." However, the "benefits from a
balanced diet far outweigh any theoretical risks from dioxin
exposure."
Source: "EPA Study Links Dioxin in Meat to Cancer in Humans,"
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, September 12, 1994; "EPA Affirms
Health Dangers From Dioxin," NEW YORK TIMES, September 13, 1994;
H. Josef Hebert, "Dioxin-Food," AP, September 13, 1993.
USDA MOVES TO OVERHAUL INSPECTION SYSTEM
The Agriculture Department unveiled plans to overhaul the nation's
meat and poultry inspection system. The new proposal will require
the testing of meat and poultry for harmful bacteria. "The inspection
system established in the 1930s is no longer adequate and must be
changed," said Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy. Espy said the new
plan will take a two-track approach to inspection. The first will
involve legislation aimed at requiring the department to mandate
microbial testing in two years. The second track will set levels for
dangerous pathogens "to the extent possible." The new proposal will
mean an end to a system that has relied on a see-touch-smell
method for detecting dangerous bactea. "Step by step, we are
aiming to overhaul the meat and poultry inspection systems so that
they utilize the most advanced science and make a safe food supply
even safer," said Espy.
Last month, the USDA said it has perfected a five-minute test for
microbes to be used in meat processing plants. Michael Taylor, new
head of the Food Safety and Inspection Service expressed
reservations about finding an application for the test. However, he
said his agency is anxious to work with meat inspectors, scientists
and he meat industry.
Source: Laurie McGinley, "Agriculture Agency Unveils System to
Improve Food Testing for Bacteria," WALL STREET JOURNAL,
September 15, 1994; "New Test Quickly Detects Bacteria Levels in
Meat," IOWA FARMER TODAY, September 3, 1994; "Espy Seeks New
Inspection Authority," UPI, September 14, 194.
_____________________________________________
RESOURCES
____________________________________________
Now available from the General Accounting Office: RISK-BASED
INSPECTIONS AND MICROBIAL MONITORING NEEDED FOR MEAT AND
POULTRY (GAO/RCED-94-110). For a copy, write GAO, Washington,
D.C. 20548
The Animal Health Institute has produced a FOOD SAFETY NETWORK
CATALOG, which contains the contact information for a variety of
industry and private organizations working on animal health and
food safety issues. For a copy, contact AHI, P.O. Box 1417-D50,
Alexandria, VA 22313, Tel: (703) 684-0011.
_____________________________________________
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
_____________________________________________
MODERN AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT, October 2-6, 1994,
Rehovet, Israel. FFI, contact: Agriculture and Environment
Conference, Peltours-Te'um, P.O. Box 8388, Jerusalem 91082, Israel,
Tel: (972) 261-7402, Fax: (972) 263-7572.
BUILDING BRIDGES, October 14,1994, St. Paul, MN. FFI, contact: Land
Stewardship Project, 14758 Ostlund Trail North, Marine on St. Croix,
MN 55047, el: (612) 433-2770.
SHARING WATER: FARMS, CITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS, 11th Annual
World Food Day Teleconference, October 14, 1994, Washington, D.C.
FFI, contact: Patricia Young, U.S. National Committee for World Food
Day, 1001 22nd Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20437.
RECOMBINANT DNA BIOTECHNOLOGY III, October 16-21, 1994,
Deauville, France. FFI, contact: Engineering Foundation, Room 303,
245 East 47th Street, New Yrk, NY 10017, Tel: (212) 705-7837, Fax:
(212) 705-7441.
FERMENTATION BIOTECHNOLOGY, October 17-21, 1994, East
Brunswick, NJ. FFI, contact: The Center for Professional
Advancement, P.O. Box 964, East Brunswick, NJ 08816, Tel: (908)
613-4500, Fax: (908) 238-9113.
DOWN TO EARTH: PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF ECOLOGICAL
ECONOMICS, October 24-28, 1994, San Jose, Costa Rica. FI, contact:
III International Conference of Ecological Economics,P.O. Box 555-
3000, Heredia, Costa Rica. |
