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USDA sets media straight in pointed memo
Story Date: 4/30/2012
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Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 4/27/12
The USDA’s press secretary sent a memo to the agency’s media list Thursday evening, taking reporters to task for an “unfortunate amount of misleading articles” on this week’s announcement of a dairy cow in California found to be infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
Specifically the agency took issue with media outlets’ focus on the number of BSE surveillance tests, while overlooking the additional safeguards represented by the feed ban and the removal of specific risk material (SRMs) during slaughter.
“The fact is, [the three measures] work in concert to protect Americans and our food. And they do work—very well,” wrote USDA Press Secretary Courtney Rowe. “[T]he United States has one of the most successful and effective BSE-prevention programs in the world.
The memo also referred media to a blog post by the agency’s Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. John Clifford on this week’s discovery and the state of BSE in the U.S. in general.
Meanwhile
On its website page dedicated to information about BSE, the USDA noted on Thursday that the infected California dairy cow was 10 years and 7 months old, and was tested as part of “targeted BSE surveillance” at rendering facilities.
Most countries that import U.S. beef products require that the animals slaughtered for those products be no more than 30 months of age.
For more stories, go to http://www.meatingplace.com/.
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