BSE found, this time, at home. Ban import or export, huh? P.S. BSE victims usually do not show symptoms in 7 to 8 years. That makes me wondering...hmm... you one or me one?
When Japan had its cases of BSE, America immediately banned Japanese beef. Then America did it when Canada had their one case last spring. Now the shoe could be on the other foot. Japan and Korea have already banned American beef, and the rest of the world might pile on. BSE had a devestating affect on Japanese, British, French, Canadian, and other agricultural industries. We shouldn't have been so smug.
U.S. Violates WHO Guidelines for Mad Cow Disease USDA Misleading American Public about Beef Safetyhttp://organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm A Comparison of North American and European Safeguardshttp://organicconsumers.org/madcow/GregerBSE.cfm
This is a huge problem...living in UK ive seen/heard/read the news on all what happend when we had it, I hope that this can be shown as just an isolated case and get things cleared up quickly for US sake. Its not the end all and be all but its a fair chunk of change to lose in exports for the US.
Just means higher stock prices..BUY MCD..just a hiccup. Will be totally ignored by next week. Best, David
Like Enron, Mutual Funds and Auditing scandals is what happens when the industry ignores the examples of real world and sets its own VERY lax standards.. Cows over 7 years old, minimal tests of cows that fall down (a sympton of BSE - fewer than 10% are tested), allowing spinal meat to enter the food chain... all typical of lax controls.. If you think that 1 case of BSE is it, I hope you are correct. Experience says otherwise.. If experience is correct, stand by for a flood of lawyers claims and a major impact on producers..
Hi all, I've been following this story and the following sequence of events occured, according to the media this side of the pond 1 The 4yr old animal showed signs of BSE i.e staggering and excess saliva, authorities notified. 2 The animal is slaughtered and the spinal cord and head is removed for tests 3 The meat from the animal is then processed into the food chain BEFORE the results of the tests are known !!!!! What on earth were your Agric. Depts and Vets doing to allow this to happen ?? Hell !! you should have learnt from our mistakes.
"The meat from the animal is then processed into the food chain BEFORE the results of the tests are known !!!!!" Scientists and food safety activists said the rules had been fatally watered down, under pressure from the farming and meat-packing lobbies. Dr Stanley Pruisner, a neurologist who won the Nobel Prize for identifying the causes of BSE, told the New York Times that, just six weeks ago, he requested a private meeting with the US agriculture secretary, Ann Veneman, to urge widespread testing of cattle. "I went to tell her what happened in Canada was going to happen in the United States. I told her it was just a matter of time," he said. Mrs Veneman - a former agriculture industry lobbyist - did not share his sense of urgency, said Dr Pruesner, who accused officials of being "wilfully blind". The US department of agriculture (Usda) is conducting a "voluntary" recall of 10,410lb of beef feared tainted by the suspect cow. The animal, a Holstein sent for slaughter after being partly paralysed while calving, was killed at a small, old-fashioned plant in Moses Lake, Washington. Usda officials described it as a "downer" animal, or one unable to stand. A tissue sample of the cow was flown to Britain on Tuesday night for scientists to confirm the analysis of tests in America. The US beef industry has resisted strong scientific pressure to stop processing meat from "downer" cows, and has also refused to stop using neck bones and spinal columns, where BSE proteins concentrate, from "automatic meat recovery systems" - giant rendering systems designed to extract scraps of tissue for use in hot dogs, burgers and pizza toppings. Rules imposed after 1997 ban the feeding of cattle products to cows, and order the separation of brain and spinal tissue from carcasses at the point of slaughter. http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$TKQXWS0QFROWVQFIQMFSFFOAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2003/12/26/wbse26.xml&sSheet=/portal/2003/12/26/ixportal.html
I have heard that about 90% of "Downer" cows are DAIRY cows. And yes, leave it up to the USDA and their wonderful Secretary Ann Veneman ( who came from the industry that she now seeks to regulate ) to look the other way when the 1997 Noble Prize Winner, Dr. Stanley Prusiner approached her 6 weeks ago after spending MONTHS trying to get ahold of her. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/24/1072239720702.html