BSE-> identification

[Anonymous]

ok, here is my little bit of comment on the current US situation with BSE.

the big problem europe (i'm european) asia and other parts of the world have with US beef is the impossibility to trak the beef on every step in the production chain. in belgium we use an eartag with a barcode that is being read every time the animal moves from owner to owner, and even after slaughter, the barcode follows the cuts around. in the case of ground beef the slaughterhouse must keep records of which cattle went into the ground beef. so that still we can check of which cattle the ground beef is composed.

this lack of id in the us is a major concern in europe, and now with BSE, it will not be long before europe sets its import standards to properly id'd cattle.

now i would like to hear your comments on the possibility of this in your situation.

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[Anonymous]

I concur. Traceability will happen in the US probably very soon. I myself am surprised that it hasn't already. Probably because much US beef is produced by small farmers and this will be difficult to enforce or audit. At the very least the trail could or already does start at the livestock auction markets we have. I earn my living in the logistics field mainly through movement of Florida citrus all over the world. Beef is my secondary. Citrus is a product which is VERY safe. The part you actually eat is never exposed to the outside until the consumer peels it. The traceability of this product is unbelievable. As if it weren't enough, they are working on technologies to trace the fruit back to it's actual tree of harvest. I can confirm that Europeans mostly but Japanese as well, are very much concerned with tracebility. But then most of this product nowadays is produced by large growers and the days of backyard farming are over making it more reasonable. All this already in place for products which are much less likely to be "unsafe" for consumption. I'm waiting to hear what our USDA will propose for traceability, and will implement as soon as possible.

> ok, here is my little bit of
> comment on the current US
> situation with BSE.

> the big problem europe (i'm
> european) asia and other parts of
> the world have with US beef is the
> impossibility to trak the beef on
> every step in the production
> chain. in belgium we use an eartag
> with a barcode that is being read
> every time the animal moves from
> owner to owner, and even after
> slaughter, the barcode follows the
> cuts around. in the case of ground
> beef the slaughterhouse must keep
> records of which cattle went into
> the ground beef. so that still we
> can check of which cattle the
> ground beef is composed.

> this lack of id in the us is a
> major concern in europe, and now
> with BSE, it will not be long
> before europe sets its import
> standards to properly id'd cattle.

> now i would like to hear your
> comments on the possibility of
> this in your situation.

 

[Anonymous]

the USDA is working on a plan for ID & traceability. word is that it will probably be a chip vs ear tag. the main holdup w/that right now is that many companies have chips right now that they want the gov to choose & go with. there will have to be contract negotiations to determine who will get the bid or they will all have to agree to make a universal chip that is not specific to the producing company. supposedly the rule will be that prior to an animal leaves its birthplace, it will need to be identified & the info sent in. w/each successive move, the updated info will be recorded. basically, that's the big plan, it's just the little things that need to be worked out.

 

[Anonymous]

The EU does't refuse to take US beef because it's not traceable. They refuse to take our beef because they claim growth implants are unsafe. That's not true; the WTO time after time said our beef is safe and refusing to take US beef is an illegal trade barrier. Because of that, the US impose tarriffs on some EU products to make up the difference.

Having said that, we're going to have mandatory ID in place pretty quick. And we should have had it in place years ago.

BTW, about 600 people die in the US every year from eating fresh fruits and vegetables. No food is totally safe unluess you raise/grow it and process it yourself. Here's a link:

<A HREF="http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/safety/" TARGET="_blank">http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/safety/</A>

And here's a sample comment:

"Unlike other commodities such as beef and chicken that are rigorously inspected, methods to detect pathogens on fresh produce are less advanced, and the sporadic nature of most contamination further limits the effectiveness of testing. Bacterial pathogens may contaminate fruits and vegetables at any point throughout the production system. Potential pre-harvest sources of contamination include soil, feces, irrigation water, water used to apply fungicides and insecticides, dust, insects, inadequately composted manure, wild and domestic animals, and human handling (3)."

Also, when you hear that Organic meat is safer, be aware that they found BSE infected animals on more than 30 certified organic farms in Great Britain during their big BSE crisis a few years ago. And that the first BSE case in France was found at a facility that only processes organic.

> ok, here is my little bit of
> comment on the current US
> situation with BSE.

> the big problem europe (i'm
> european) asia and other parts of
> the world have with US beef is the
> impossibility to trak the beef on
> every step in the production
> chain. in belgium we use an eartag
> with a barcode that is being read
> every time the animal moves from
> owner to owner, and even after
> slaughter, the barcode follows the
> cuts around. in the case of ground
> beef the slaughterhouse must keep
> records of which cattle went into
> the ground beef. so that still we
> can check of which cattle the
> ground beef is composed.

> this lack of id in the us is a
> major concern in europe, and now
> with BSE, it will not be long
> before europe sets its import
> standards to properly id'd cattle.

> now i would like to hear your
> comments on the possibility of
> this in your situation.

 

[Anonymous]

the eu doesn't refuse us beef, not all, but they do refuse the beef that is not tracebable because then the producer can do what he wants (homones, ...) without ever being caught. in short, all us beef imported by the eu is already traceable, but because this is not mandatory in the us, not all beef is importable into the eu.

[email protected]

 

[Anonymous]

Frankie that's a good bit of factual information. Thanks for bringing that to light. My intention was not to deem fruits and vegetables totally safe, but rather to discuss traceability. Trust me, my heart lies wholly in beef. With citrus from Florida (at least the plants we market for), I could take a trip to Europe or Asia or anywhere else for that matter, and provided the fruit was still in it's packaging, I could identify from a section of land where it came from. We are taking steps to narrow that down to a few trees. We are also trying to put traceability into each individual piece. I suppose that would be akin to identifying from the consumer's package of beef, what animal or at least which ranch the beef originated and the trail from ranch to slaughter. Hey FYI- did you guys know cattle go wild over grapefruit? I give culls to them from time to time and they smile from ear to ear.

> The EU does't refuse to take US
> beef because it's not traceable.
> They refuse to take our beef
> because they claim growth implants
> are unsafe. That's not true; the
> WTO time after time said our beef
> is safe and refusing to take US
> beef is an illegal trade barrier.
> Because of that, the US impose
> tarriffs on some EU products to
> make up the difference.

> Having said that, we're going to
> have mandatory ID in place pretty
> quick. And we should have had it
> in place years ago.

> BTW, about 600 people die in the
> US every year from eating fresh
> fruits and vegetables. No food is
> totally safe unluess you
> raise/grow it and process it
> yourself. Here's a link:

>
> <A HREF="http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/safety/" TARGET="_blank">http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/safety/</A>
> And here's a sample comment:

> "Unlike other commodities
> such as beef and chicken that are
> rigorously inspected, methods to
> detect pathogens on fresh produce
> are less advanced, and the
> sporadic nature of most
> contamination further limits the
> effectiveness of testing.
> Bacterial pathogens may
> contaminate fruits and vegetables
> at any point throughout the
> production system. Potential
> pre-harvest sources of
> contamination include soil, feces,
> irrigation water, water used to
> apply fungicides and insecticides,
> dust, insects, inadequately
> composted manure, wild and
> domestic animals, and human
> handling (3)."

> Also, when you hear that Organic
> meat is safer, be aware that they
> found BSE infected animals on more
> than 30 certified organic farms in
> Great Britain during their big BSE
> crisis a few years ago. And that
> the first BSE case in France was
> found at a facility that only
> processes organic.

 

[Anonymous]

If you cut them into wedges do they bite into them and cover their teeth so they have a big yellow smile?

dun

> Frankie that's a good bit of
> factual information. Thanks for
> bringing that to light. My
> intention was not to deem fruits
> and vegetables totally safe, but
> rather to discuss traceability.
> Trust me, my heart lies wholly in
> beef. With citrus from Florida (at
> least the plants we market for), I
> could take a trip to Europe or
> Asia or anywhere else for that
> matter, and provided the fruit was
> still in it's packaging, I could
> identify from a section of land
> where it came from. We are taking
> steps to narrow that down to a few
> trees. We are also trying to put
> traceability into each individual
> piece. I suppose that would be
> akin to identifying from the
> consumer's package of beef, what
> animal or at least which ranch the
> beef originated and the trail from
> ranch to slaughter. Hey FYI- did
> you guys know cattle go wild over
> grapefruit? I give culls to them
> from time to time and they smile
> from ear to ear.



[email protected]

 

[Anonymous]

Can you point me to a web site that shows how much US beef is imported into the EU evry year?

the eu doesn't refuse us beef, not
> all, but they do refuse the beef
> that is not tracebable because
> then the producer can do what he
> wants (homones, ...) without ever
> being caught. in short, all us
> beef imported by the eu is already
> traceable, but because this is not
> mandatory in the us, not all beef
> is importable into the eu.

 

[Anonymous]

Fruit and vegetable farmers are at the mercy of processers and consumers, just like beef producers. We can produce a healthy, safe product, but if it's mishandled by the consumer or the processer, or even during transport, people can get sick. An apple can be perfect when purchased at the store, but if the consumer leaves the slices laying around, bacteria can grow and make them sick. But we need to do all that we can and I think mandatory ID is vital to the beef industry.

> Frankie that's a good bit of
> factual information. Thanks for
> bringing that to light. My
> intention was not to deem fruits
> and vegetables totally safe, but
> rather to discuss traceability.
> Trust me, my heart lies wholly in
> beef. With citrus from Florida (at
> least the plants we market for), I
> could take a trip to Europe or
> Asia or anywhere else for that
> matter, and provided the fruit was
> still in it's packaging, I could
> identify from a section of land
> where it came from. We are taking
> steps to narrow that down to a few
> trees. We are also trying to put
> traceability into each individual
> piece. I suppose that would be
> akin to identifying from the
> consumer's package of beef, what
> animal or at least which ranch the
> beef originated and the trail from
> ranch to slaughter. Hey FYI- did
> you guys know cattle go wild over
> grapefruit? I give culls to them
> from time to time and they smile
> from ear to ear.

 

[Anonymous]

I know you're having a laugh at my expense, but seriously they go nuts over it. Yeah they do smile. They eat the whole thing, peel and all. A lot of our juice processing plants have feed mills within the operation. They dehydrate the peels and pulp and then use it as an additive for feeds and molasses tank mixtures. You Texas folks have a little bit of citrus, haven't you tried it? Good fiber and a few vitamins I guess. Keeps them regular?

> If you cut them into wedges do
> they bite into them and cover
> their teeth so they have a big
> yellow smile?

> dun

 

[Anonymous]

> Fruit and vegetable farmers are at
> the mercy of processers and
> consumers, just like beef
> producers. We can produce a
> healthy, safe product, but if it's
> mishandled by the consumer or the
> processer, or even during
> transport, people can get sick. An
> apple can be perfect when
> purchased at the store, but if the
> consumer leaves the slices laying
> around, bacteria can grow and make
> them sick. But we need to do all
> that we can and I think mandatory
> ID is vital to the beef industry.

I think it is going to improve the industry as well. We should have had it (ID) years ago. It was the packers and distribures that have faught the issue, too expense. Well how much money may be loss without it?

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[Anonymous]

no, but the chamber of commerce shoul be able to provide you with the details if you wish so.

it's all public info.

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[Anonymous]

Yep, and they like fat oranges too, and if fed regularly it makes their hair glossy and shed water like a duck's

Granma has lots of citrus trees, she loves the blooms, and the smell, but no one to eat them all so I would gather a bushel or two every week and feed them to the cows, it is very funny to watch a cow chase a large orange or grapefruit, like a large labradore, and mash it in their mouth with pleasure as the juice spills out

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[Anonymous]

> Yep, and they like fat oranges
> too, and if fed regularly it makes
> their hair glossy and shed water
> like a duck's

> Granma has lots of citrus trees,
> she loves the blooms, and the
> smell, but no one to eat them all
> so I would gather a bushel or two
> every week and feed them to the
> cows, it is very funny to watch a
> cow chase a large orange or
> grapefruit, like a large
> labradore, and mash it in their
> mouth with pleasure as the juice
> spills out

In east Texas I had the same experience with Pears. The cows would stand on their hine feet to reach the pears on the trees. they seemed to know when they were ripe. Brahman cross cattle sure are smart.

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[Anonymous]

A couple of months ago a bunch of the neighbors cows just didn't look right as I drove by. On the way back I slowed down and say the were eating hedge apples. What I had seen out of the corner of my eye was the strabge bulg around there mouths. Didn't now anything would eat those things.

dun

> In east Texas I had the same
> experience with Pears. The cows
> would stand on their hine feet to
> reach the pears on the trees. they
> seemed to know when they were
> ripe. Brahman cross cattle sure
> are smart.



[email protected]

 

[Anonymous]

We've had cows that choke and die on them, and then we have some that seem to be experts at eating them down in the lots where the trees are used for shade and keep the ground clean of them.

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