040109 Kansas Beef Council: “Beef Is Safe”January 3, 2004Topeka, KS - The Kansas Beef Council is aggressively spreading the message that U.S. beef is safe to eat. Facts on the situation involving the single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Washington state have been distributed by KBC to the media, supermarket operators and restaurant owners. The key message for consumers is that the U.S. system of surveillance and testing worked, allowing the public to continue eating beef with confidence. "Due to the strength of the U.S. system and its ability to prevent the spread of BSE, this is an animal disease story, not a food safety problem," said KBC chairman Tom Toll, a beef producer from Lindsborg. "Consumers should continue to eat beef with complete confidence." Within 15 hours of USDA's announcement about the single case of BSE, KBC, the Kansas Livestock Association, the Kansas Animal Health Department and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association conducted scores of interviews designed to reassure American consumers. This public relations effort will continue as USDA investigates the origin of the cow and any feed consumed by the animal. Included in conversations with the media were explanations of the system in place to prevent any potential spread of BSE. A comprehensive, multi-year risk analysis conducted at Harvard University indicated the U.S. is well-equipped to prevent the spread of BSE. The U.S. banned imports of cattle and bovine products from countries with BSE beginning in 1989. A surveillance program for BSE was initiated in 1990, making the U.S. the first country in the world without BSE to test cattle for the disease. The surveillance system targets all cattle with any signs of neurological disorder, as well as those over 30 months of age and animals that are non-ambulatory. The third firewall in the system is a 1997 Food and Drug Administration ban on feeding ruminant- derived meat and bone meal supplements to cattle. This is the component that will prevent any potential spread of BSE to other animals. BSE does not spread from animal to animal, only through feed sources. "Central nervous system tissue from the lone infected animal did not go into the food supply," said Kansas Animal Health Commissioner George Teagarden in a reassuring message for consumers. "Current science indicates the BSE agent is not found in whole-muscle meats, such as steaks and roasts, only in central nervous tissue, which is not commonly consumed in the U.S." Additional information on the cow in Washington and the safety of U.S. beef can be found on www.bseinfo.org. KBC is the marketing arm of KLA. Directed by a board of volunteer producers, KBC conducts promotion, research and education programs funded by the $1 per head beef checkoff.
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com |
