NATIONAL MEAT ASSOCIATION h 1970 Broadway, Suite 825, Oakland, CA 94612

(510) 763-1533 Fax (510) 763-6186 h Email Address: [email protected] h http://www.nmaonline.org

Edited by Kiran Kernellu

December 23, 2002

SEASON’S GREETINGS!

It’s Christmas for many people this week, a time to celebrate with family and friends. In the broad diversity of the United States, those with different beliefs also celebrate year-end festivities this month. Ours is a tolerant society, grounded in personal freedoms to practice the very diversity of faiths that many in other countries are persecuted for. Ours is a great nation, we carry a powerful stick and we tread softly, as we try to assure through world organizations, peace and prosperity to others. As we give thanks for our good fortune, let us also reach out to others less fortunate and share with them our bounty.

Season’s greetings to all! May the coming year bring joy, prosperity, and peace of mind and spirit. ~ NMA staff

HOLIDAY SPIRIT

Many companies in the industry make charitable contributions throughout the year. This season especially brings a touch of the holiday spirit out in many of them. Cargill Turkey Products of Harrisonburg, VA is one such company with a touch of the holiday spirit. According to a Meatingplace.com report, the company has provided fresh Shady Brook Farms turkeys to the families of fallen New York City firefighters and officers. Cargill worked with the Uniform NYC Fireman Association to present coupons for a fresh turkey to 343 families that lost loved ones on September 11^th. The coupons also came with a letter of thanks. Thankfully, the industry has brought many more good tidings for the season.

UPCOMING NMA SEMINARS

Jan 9- Reassessment of HACCP to Meet the Revised E. Coli O157:H7 Requirements

Embassy Suites Hotel, 9801 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, CA; (310) 215-1000

Jan 10- 1-Day Listeria Briefing Requirements of FSIS Directive 10,240.3

Embassy Suites Hotel, 9801 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, CA; (310) 215-1000

*This one-day seminar will review FSIS Directive 10,240.3, proper environmental sampling, SSOP re- evaluations, and HACCP plan reassessment.

Jan 23- Reassessment of HACCP to Meet the Revised E. Coli O157:H7 Requirements

Hotel TBA, Boston, MA

Jan. 30 and 31- 2-Day Listeria Briefing Requirements of FSIS Directive 10,240.3

Embassy Suites Hotel, 9801 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, CA; (310) 215-1000

*This two-day seminar will review FSIS Directive 10,240.3, more in-depth coverage of proper environmental sampling and testing procedures, laboratory testing considerations, tracking and trend analysis of data, SSOP re-evaluations, and HACCP plan reassessment.

Feb 11- Environmental Monitoring with Silliker Lab

Marriot Hotel, Newport Beach, CA

*This seminar will review designing a comprehensive environmental monitoring program, environmental monitoring for investigational purposes, data management and maintenance of an environmental program.

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GREAT BRITAIN FMD STATUS CHANGED

With its Final Rule, published in the Federal Register on December 17, APHIS has changed Great Britain’s foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) status. The agency is “amending the regulations governing the importation of certain animals, meat, and other animal products by adding Great

Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man) to the list of regions considered free of rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD),” according to the Final Rule. This action is “based on the results of an evaluation of the current FMD situation in Great Britain, which took into account, among other things, that Great Britain has met the standards of the Office International des Epizooties for being considered to be free of FMD…This rule relieves certain FMD-related prohibitions and restrictions on the importation of ruminants and swine and fresh (chilled or frozen) meat and other products of ruminants and swine into the United States from Great Britain. View the Final Rule at:

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2002/02-31659.htm.

BSE ROUNDTABLE MEETING

The American Meat Institute (AMI) hosted a roundtable meeting to discuss current regulatory initiatives regarding bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Speakers at the meeting included Dr. Steve Sundlof from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), Dr. Lisa Ferguson from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and Dr. Daniel Englejohn from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Industry participants included representatives from the National Milk Producers Federation, the National Institute of Animal Agriculture, Pet Food Institute, Federation of Animal Science Societies, National Renderers Association, American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), National Pork Board, National Association of Elk Breeders, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Sheep Industry Association, National Meat Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Brett Schwemer of Olsson, Frank & Weeda participated on behalf of NMA. To obtain the Olsson, Frank & Weeda memorandum summarizing the meeting, contact Kiran Kernellu at (510) 763-1533 or [email protected].

TALKING TRADE

The U.S.-Cuba Business Conference will be held in Cancun, Mexico and Havana, Cuba February 17-19, 2003. The third major business event involving talks of trade with Cuba in the past year, according to Meatingplace.com, the conference is sponsored by the Arkansas Farm Bureau, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Port of Galveston, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Texas Farm Bureau, Caterpillar Inc., Patton Boggs, GIC Group, Americans for Humanitarian Trade with Cuba, and World Development Federation.

The first such conference was held this past February. The event helped spawn the U.S.-Cuba Trade Association, and build private-sector economic and cultural ties between U.S. agribusiness companies and Cuban officials. Reportedly, over 300 U.S. representatives from the agribusiness and medical industries will attend the February 2003 conference. Conference organizer Conway Data can be reached at (770) 446-6996.

JOIN US AT NMA’S MEATXPO‘03!

Sunday, MARCH 2- Wednesday, March 5, 2003

RIO ALL-SUITE CASINO RESORT,

LAS VEGAS, NV

Reassessment of HACCP Plan To Meet the Revised

E. coli O157:H7 Requirements

JANUARY 9, 2003

Los Angeles, CA

Space is limited to 35 participants, so register early!

EXPERT SPEAKERS:

WALTER (MICKEY) McEVERS and JOHN MILLER

HACCP Consulting Group, LLC

Fairfax, VA (703) 385-1989

CUBAN MARKET

As reported in the National Livestock Producers Association (NLPA) News Brief from AgWeb, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) is looking to obtain approval for exports to Cuba from all federally inspected U.S. beef and pork plants during the first quarter of 2003. USMEF is working to acquire funding to bring two Cuban government veterinarians to the U.S. They will tour U.S. packing plants and processing facilities with the goal of obtaining a system-wide endorsement that would allow exports to Cuba, provided there is a relaxation of U.S. restrictions on trade with the country. If the endorsement is received, USMEF will lead a team of U.S. packers and traders to Cuba. While Cuba is deemed to be an emerging market, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) estimates U.S. agricultural exports to the country could reach $300 million annually, provided there are no restrictions on sales. FAS found that figure may reach $1 billion annually within five years.

AgWeb further reported that U.S. exporters would probably concentrate first on Cuba’s expanding tourism industry, offering beef and pork products to resort hotels and restaurants. The Cuban population is reported to favor pork, but both pork and beef offal and less expensive muscle cuts may show promise in local markets. USMEF may offer educational programs to teach Cuban buyers about the value of U.S. meat products, which has reportedly posed a challenge to exporter success in the past.

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NMA reports news items that are of special interest to its readers, and provides information that they may want to be able to access. Below are links to the Federal Register, AMS, APHIS, and FSIS, respectively.

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html

http://www.ams.usda.gov/

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

HAVE WE GOT A LOT IN STORE FOR YOU NEXT WEEK!

LOOK FOR INFORMATION ABOUT NMA’S MEATXPO’03 IN NEXT WEEK’S LEAN TRIMMINGS AND HERD ON THE HILL!

JEFF SAVELL ANNIVERSARY

Congratulations to Dr. Jeff Savell on his 25-year tenure as a faculty member at Texas A&M, Department of Animal Science. Dr. Savell is also celebrating a ten-year anniversary as E.M. “Manny” Rosenthal Chairholder. Congratulations on such fine achievements!

NATIONAL MEAT ASSOCIATION

NMA - East: 1400 - 16th St. N.W., Suite 400, Washington D.C. 20036 Ph. (202) 667-2108

NMA - West: 1970 Broadway, Suite 825, Oakland, CA 94612 Ph. (510) 763-1533 Fax (510) 763-6186

Edited by Kiran Kernellu

December 23, 2002

CLARIFICATION ON COMBO SHIPPING

In the December 2, 2002 Lean Trimmings NMA provided information to members on combo shipment in commerce. In further clarification of this issue, Dennis Johnson of Olsson, Frank & Weeda has provided us a copy of a letter from William C. Smith, Deputy Administrator of Field Operations, FSIS, which confirms that product found presumptive positive for E. coli O157:H7 during transit may be shipped to another consignee without a USDA seal so long as it is properly identified. A copy of Mr. Smith’s letter is inset. Tests such as these by Neogen or VAX are presumptive until the sample is subsequently confirmed by a laboratory.

UPDATE ON SLAUGHTER SANITARY DRESSING PROCEDURES

NMA has received a Draft of the Sanitary Dressing Procedures developed by a working group of key people from slaughter operations and led by Dr. Kerri Harris and Dr. Jeff Savell of Texas A&M University. The draft is now being reviewed by the members of the Working Group, and will be made available to all interested parties upon its completion. NMA hopes that its slaughter members will find it useful as a model in developing plant Sanitary Dressing Procedures specific to the operations. We are indebted to Drs. Harris and Savell for working with us on this project.

A special mailing was distributed to beef slaughterers last week on this subject. Also included were some research papers on the effects of trimming and/or spray washing. An additional item in this regard was published in Food Quality magazine, in an article entitled “Automated Meat Pasteurization.” Members who would like a copy should advise Kiran Kernellu at [email protected] or Mike Gangel at CHAD Co. for a FAX copy.

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FSIS STAFF CHANGES

FSIS Administrator Dr. Garry L. McKee has announced additional staff changes as part of the Agency's reorganization. Paul Thompson has been named to the position of Special Assistant to the Administrator, Office of the Administrator, pending department clearance. As Special Assistant to the Administrator, Thompson will serve as the Agency's lead on the HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project (HIMP). Previously announced in September, Michaelle Fisher has been selected as Director of the Technical Service Center, pending department clearance. Fisher is currently the District Manager in the Raleigh, N.C., District Office. Both appointments will become effective December 30, 2002.

UP FOR REVIEW

Last Wednesday, the Bush Administration released a list of 267 rules that are up for review, as reported in the Washington Post. The federal regulations named in the list are candidates for revision, elimination or expansion, according to the article. The list is contained in the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) annual report that estimates how much regulation costs and benefits society. OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which receives these public referendum nominations, will send them on to the 26 agencies to which they pertain. Among the nominations for review were the standards for Salmonella, and the labeling of genetically modified food. The number of nominees was particularly large this year, so much so that OIRA Administrator John Graham has opted to send the high-priority rules to agencies for further review.

CAFO CLAMOR

A new rule about concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) was drawing din even before its publication in the Federal Register. NASDA News reported last week that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christine Todd Whitman and Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced new rules on CAFOs. The new rules speak to many of the concerns voiced by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and other farm groups. View the rule and other CAFO information at:

http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/afo/cafofinalrule.cfm.

Among other things, the new rule requires large CAFOs to apply for a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit, and develop a plan for managing manure and wastewater. The rule continues the existing criteria for determining when medium and small operations require permits. The regulation allows states to adapt the final rules to suit their requirements, as they will play an integral role in implementing the new rules.

However, there is a hullabaloo about these undoubtedly well-intentioned new rules. NASDA News relayed in an article last week that a new report from the National Academy of Science’s (NAS) National Research Council (NRC) stated that neither EPA nor USDA “has devoted the necessary financial or technical resources to estimate emissions from animal feeding operations accurately and to develop mitigation strategies.” Further, in a press release, Senator Harkin called the rule “on paper at least, a muddled result, without a clearer path to a cleaner environment.” Senator Harkin expressed “serious doubts [about] whether this administration’s decision will help or hinder cleaning up the environment…” Some consumer groups are also leery of the efficacy of the new rules. On the other hand, groups representing the hog, cattle, and chicken industries have been supportive, according to a New York Times report. The National Turkey Federation came out in favor of the new regulations, according to Meatingplace.com. Kara Flynn, Director of Communications for the National Pork Producers Council told the Times that “[they] applaud the administration for its efforts to make this more palatable, however, they are still concerned about its cost and the impact it will have on the small and mid-size pork producers.”