031256 Oakland Port Turns Away Beef Trucks

Oakland, CA - Every year more than 200,000 metric tons of American-raised beef leaves the Port of Oakland destined for Asian nations such as China, Japan and Indonesia.

This week, that lucrative trade was suspended after a Mabton, Wash., cow was suspected of having mad cow disease.

Almost 20 countries around the globe halted imports of American beef, and at the Port of Oakland, trucks hauling 40-foot containers filled with frozen red meat were turned around this week.

While the total number of beef-laden containers now stacked up at the Oakland docks was unknown Friday, port officials said many would not be there by the end of the weekend.

"I don't have any specifics but it would most likely go back to its destination," said Dave Adams, chief wharfinger at the port. "They are not going to allow it to just sit here."

Mad cow disease, known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, is an illness that attacks a cow's brain. It can be transmitted as a fatal variant, called Creutzfeldt-Jakob, to humans who eat infected beef products.

Since it was discovered in the Washington cow, 16 countries have banned the import of American beef as U.S. Department of Agriculture offi- cials continue to investigate how far or if the disease has spread.

At the port, beef accounts for 6.7% of annual exports. Despite the scare, Adams said he has no reports of problems on the docks from a backlog of beef-filled containers nor was he prepared to calculate what kind of loss if any the current ban might have on the operation.

The California beef industry is starting to think about the possible impacts of a mad cow scare.

"There is no way to tell the effect yet," said Virginia Coelho, executive director of the California Beef Council. "It's not unusual for this to happen but you hope it won't last."

Exports of American beef make up about 10% of the total beef production in the United States or roughly $3.8 billion of the $40 billion-per-year industry. Japan leads all countries in the world by importing 2.9% of U.S. beef followed by Mexico and Korea.

While foreign nations banned the meat from their shores, Americans, who consume the most beef of any nation, continued buying the red meat.

Grocery shoppers perusing the meat section Friday at the Pak'n Save store on San Pablo Avenue in Emeryville didn't seem worried about the mad cow scare.

"I'm pretty confident in the USDA," said Ron Clark of Berkeley, referring to the federal agriculture department. "They've got a handle on it, and I like beef."

Added Vincent Wilcox of San Jose: "I know I will continue to eat beef, I'm not worried because I am confident in our government's investigative process."

Similar views were expressed throughout the East Bay Friday as shoppers continued to scarf up steaks and burgers.

Despite the positive view from shoppers, sellers of the meat were a little more concerned.

At Chavez Meat Market on Thornton Avenue in Fremont, there's been no drop in beef sales.

"The news just came out so a lot of people may not have heard," said Lupe Lopez, manager of Chavez Meat Market. "It may have an impact, but right now it's hard to tell."

Abdul Huruy, owner of Oakland Halal Meat & Produce Market on Telegraph Avenue was more pessimistic.

"Nobody likes disease," he said. "If there's mad cow disease, we're not going to sell any beef at all."

Even if it is organic.

Rob Hurlbut, president of Niman Ranch in Oakland which raises organic cattle, worries the mad cow scare will turn consumers off meat even if it is raised on a vegetarian diet.

"The most immediate impact is going to be from the U.S. consumers who just decide they don't want to eat beef anymore," Hurlbut said.

Niman Ranch only feeds its cattle, which are Angus, Hereford and Short Horn, all natural vegetarian feed, Hurlbut said. That would make it impossible for Niman cattle to get mad cow -- which is passed from one cow to another through mammalian bone meal, he said.

Despite the vegetarian meals, Hurlbut said his company has already received questions about the safety of its cattle. To counter the fears, Niman Ranch is sending out newsletters to its customers, such as Trader Joe's, Andronico's and Chipotle, to give reassurance the meat is safe.

So while government officials investigate and the world's countries reject American beef, owners of stores around the Bay Area just sit and wait.

Cynthia Oliva, manager of La Familia Meat Market on Fremont Boulevard in Fremont, said she is worried because beef makes up 80% of her meat sales.

"Right now we're all just waiting to see how it all turns out," she said. Staff writers David Morrill, Alan Zibel and Jennifer Ward and wire services contributed to this report.

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