Mad Cow Facts

We fully support USDA’s recall as a precautionary measure.

• The system we have created to keep our beef supply wholesome and safe must be complied with which is why we support USDA’s action today to implement a Class 2 precautionary type recall.
• The person or persons responsible should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

At the same, time, we can say with confidence that the beef supply is safe because of the multiple interlocking safeguards we have in place.

• In the United States beef industry, we have multiple, interlocking safeguards at the processing plant that keeps beef safe.
• Other systems inside this facility have been audited and tested extensively over the past several months giving us confidence that safety measures were operating at the highest standard.
• The ban on non-ambulatory animals from entering the food supply is one of many safety measures in the U.S. food system, but it is not the only step taken to ensure the safety of the beef supply.
• From stringent feeding guidelines to processing guidelines, there are multiple safety hurdles in the beef production chain before our product arrives at our grocery stores or restaurants.
• The fact that one of the multiple safeguards in place was bypassed in this case is unacceptable but does not compromise the safety of the beef.
• I am confident in the safety of beef because I know there are multiple hurdles beef goes through to make it safe before I serve it to my family.

BSE is not a food safety concern because of significant interlocking safeguards that began in 1989.

• What happened at this plant DOES NOT mean kids were exposed to BSE. There are multiple safeguards are in place to help ensure the safety of beef.
• There are about 97 million cattle in this country. In the past 18 years, only three cases of BSE (one of which was imported) have been identified after widely testing of our herd. The fact is: this disease is not present to any significant extent in our cattle herd.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducted an expanded BSE surveillance program that verified the risk of BSE in the U.S. cattle population is less than one case per 1 million cattle. (from June 2004 to August 2006, more than 759,000 cattle were tested)
• But even though this disease is extremely rare, the beef industry has taken all the steps necessary to make sure we produce beef in a way that this disease never enters the food chain.

As an organization representing beef producers, we have two expectations when our cattle leave our farms or ranches: that our animals are treated humanely and that every step is taken to produce safe beef.

• NCBA supports full-time USDA supervision of the ante-mortem (before slaughter) animal receiving area and holding pens to ensure proper treatment of all animals.
• By law, every beef processing facility in the United States must follow humane handling procedures as outlined in the Humane Slaughter Act. NCBA strongly supports strict compliance with and enforcement of the Act.
• We also believe it is our role to work with our industry partners in the dairy, packing and processing industries to ensure the same high level of humane care is given to animals every step along the way.
• Beef producers understand that animal care and raising cattle go hand-in-hand. We know that giving animals the proper care, handling and nutrition they deserve is the right thing to do. We stand behind this principle with educational programs such as the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certification program, which outlines the essential elements for cattle care on the farm.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 17th, 2008 at 9:15 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.