Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 2/11/10
Food Safety and Inspection Service Administrator Al Almanza said here today in a roundtable discussion on food safety reform that the Obama administration's efforts to take a more holistic approach to inspection includes focusing on the risks associated with animals slaughtered for raw beef product.

Almanza said that meat processors need to assess whether the risks associated with buying and slaughtering animals that pose food safety risks is worth the cost savings.

Asked by Tyson Foods' Quality Assurance and Food Safety chief Dean Danilson whether FSIS might treat riskier beef animals like the poultry industry treats spent hens and divert them for use in cooked or canned end product, Almanza said, "I think you're on the right track."

"We know there's still value for that product, but is there really value in the way to produce it in a raw product where it's posing a greater risk to public health and to your brand?" he added. "Yeah, I think that's where I'm going with that."

(UPDATE corrects the story and Almanza's comments to address the risk, rather than the age, of animals.)

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