020534 Meat New Zealand Defends Import Beef Standards

Vienna, VA - This is an open letter from Meat New Zealand defending imported beef standards written by Andrew Burtt to the media.

Sirs,

New Zealand's meat industry and livestock farmers came under attack recently when the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) and the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund USA (R-CALF) criticized imported beef standards in a wave of unilateral statements released to the media. We can only assume that these domestic organizations, which seek to influence public and political opinion, are grossly uninformed. We consider that the American consumer is best served by a balanced view of these claims.

New Zealand's beef production is certified as matching the U.S.'s own high safety standards in every way. To be certain of this, New Zealand has embraced the principles of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), an internationally recognized system that is widely accepted as the foremost means of assuring food safety. New Zealand clearly meets the requirements of our trading partners' regulations by showing that our processing operations have equivalent systems producing similar outcomes.

As a result of our unparalleled safety measures, New Zealand has never experienced diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease--one of the most serious conditions affecting cloven-hoofed animals, and we have never had a case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in our cattle. New Zealand is internationally recognized as free of Scrapie (which occurs in sheep) and CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) in deer. Still, our government maintains a pro-active surveillance program to point out any of these diseases, in the unlikely event that they should ever occur. Further, thanks to New Zealand's pastoral agricultural systems, there is little need for veterinary drugs, chemical inputs or feed supplements, which may cause harmful residues. We maintain a world-class Residue Monitoring and Surveillance Program, the results of which are reported to and approved by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.

We acknowledge those organizations representing the U.S. beef industry that take a more balanced view of New Zealand's dedication to quality standards and the importance of trade. Meat New Zealand works constructively with them toward our common goal of growth for the global meat industry.

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com