Issue Advisory

February 21, 2008

 

To:            State Partner Organizations

Contact:    Michele P. Murray, Denver Office, 303/850-6904

                  Mandy Carr, Denver Office, 303/850-6904

Subject:     FSIS recall media briefing, additional response tools

 

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) hosted a media call with reporters this afternoon to respond to questions about the Hallmark/Westland recall. Reporters are asking how many places the product has gone to, how it’s being traced and whether there will be further recalls announced. They also wanted to know whether any illnesses have been reported, the progress of the Hallmark/Westland plant investigation and details about FSIS inspection, including the inspection process, number of inspectors in-plant and whether it’s sufficient. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been posting the transcripts from these briefings in its Newsroom. We are evaluating whether the questions raised during the media warrant additional communication resources.

 

As requested during Tuesday’s state call, there are now additional supporting talking points (below) and a fact sheet (attached) available to help describe the multiple safeguards in place protecting beef safety. These resources will be added to the State Extranet. The Key Messages distributed Sunday, Feb. 17 and posted to the Extranet should continue to be the primary messages used to respond to consumer media inquiries about the recall. These supporting talking points should mostly be used for detail when more specific questions are asked about the multiple safeguards in place. Please contact us with any questions.

 

This Advisory is funded by The Beef Checkoff

 

Multiple Safeguards in Place Talking Points

February 21, 2008

 

From stringent feeding guidelines to processing systems, there are multiple safety hurdles in the beef production chain before product arrives at our grocery stores, restaurants and dinner tables.

 

A series of time-tested and thoroughly researched safeguards individually and collectively provide us with the safest food system in the world.

 

Inspection Process

Federal inspectors must be present in all plants at all times overseeing compliance with a host of federal regulations under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Humane Slaughter Act.

• Meat plants are among the most heavily regulated and inspected businesses in the United States. 

·         It is the multiple safety interventions that keep beef safe. 

 

The Humane Slaughter Act dictates strict animal handling and slaughtering standards for the packing plants. Bottom line, it is against the law to mistreat animals.

·         Plant employees are required to handle animals in a humane manner that minimizes excitement, discomfort and stress.

·         Packing plant employees are required to immediately notify FSIS inspection program personnel if an animal becomes non-ambulatory after passing ante-mortem inspection.

 

E. coli

All beef is subject to strict government oversight.

• Meat processing plants have implemented effective safeguards which range from hide washes to pasteurization processes that have been scientifically shown to effectively remove and/or eliminate bacteria from beef and beef products. All of these actions work together to act as hurdles before it arrives at our homes.
• School lunch contract requirements include finished product sampling and testing to ensure ground beef products are negative for E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella.

 

Best practices are continually developed, enhanced and implemented in all sectors of the beef chain and include proper animal care, science-based effective safeguards/interventions at processing as well as storage and food preparation guidelines for restaurants and grocery stores.

• A variety of microbiological tests are taken by companies and government to ensure that food safety systems are working properly and that beef is produced in the safest way possible.
• From the ranch to the restaurant, the food chain works together, sharing research findings and food safety best practices.
• Processing and packing plants employ a series of safeguards designed to reduce incidence of foodborne pathogens and ensure safe beef.
• Aggressive and high technology strategies are used to reduce and eliminate bacteria.  These efforts may include:
  • Hide washing systems, similar to a car wash
  • Hot water rinses
  • Continual knife sterilization
  • Steam pasteurization or hot water wash cabinets
  • Organic acid rinses
• America’s beef producers are a proud sponsor of ServSafe, a comprehensive food safety training program administered by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. More than 1.5 million foodservice employees are ServSafe certified and learn important food handling, storage and preparation tips.

 

BSE

Even though BSE is virtually non-existent in the U.S. cattle population, the government and beef industry have taken steps necessary to make sure we produce beef in a way that this disease never enters the food chain. 

• The ban on non-ambulatory animals from entering the food supply is one of many precautionary measures in the U.S. food system, but it is not the only step taken to ensure the safety of the beef supply.

 

• There are about 97 million cattle in this country. In the past 18 years, only three cases of BSE (one of which was imported) have been identified after widely testing of our herd.  The fact is: this disease is not present to any significant extent in the U.S. cattle herd. 
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducted an expanded BSE surveillance program that verified the risk of BSE in the U.S. cattle population is less than one case per 1 million cattle. (from June 1, 2004 to August 20, 2006, more than 787,000 high risk cattle were tested)

 

To ensure that BSE is not an issue in the U.S. cattle herd, FDA banned feeding ruminant-derived protein to cattle in 1997. This feed ban eliminates cattle being exposed to the disease and has had one of the highest levels of compliance of all the Food and Drug Administration regulations.

• According to USDA, the animals processed at the Hallmark/Westland plant were most likely born four to six years after the feed ban went into effect in 1997.

 

Even though the disease is virtually non-existent in our U.S. herd, we take extra measures when processing the meat to ensure it NEVER enters the meat supply.

• BSE infectivity exists only in nervous system tissues such as the spinal cord and brain of older animals diagnosed with this rare disease, and USDA mandates that these tissues are eliminated from the food supply. 
• This step takes place with every animal to ensure this diminishing disease has no effect on public health.