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
June 23, 2003
USDA DENIED FUNDS FOR COOL
Last Tuesday the U.S. House Appropriations
Subcommittee on Agriculture voted unanimously to bar funding for the
implementation of COOL for meat under a provision in the FY 2004 Agriculture
Appropriations bill. The funding block doesn’t apply to seafood, peanuts and
fresh produce covered by COOL. If the FY 2004 Agriculture Appropriations bill
passes with this provision, mandatory rules for COOL meat won’t be promulgated
by September 30, 2004. The full committee is expected to vote on the funding
this week, according to Cattle Buyers Weekly.
If the current FY 2004 Agriculture Appropriations
bill is ultimately approved by the House, Senate, and President Bush, mandatory
COOL for meat won’t be implemented until September 30, 2005 at the earliest,
provided the funds are allocated for it in the FY 2005 Agriculture
Appropriations bill. “Before
any decision is made, the producers, processors, retailers and meat industry
must have the opportunity to consider the ramifications,” Rep. Henry
Bonilla (R-TX) said in an Associated
Press report.
Rep. Bonilla, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Agriculture Appropriations,
included the provision in the appropriations bill. According to the California
Cattlemen’s Legislative Bulletin, Mr. Bonilla’s comments indicate that he
would like to ensure that Congress adequately assesses the implications of
mandatory country of origin labeling of meat products prior to implementation
by USDA. He pointed out that many of the ranchers in his district are extremely
concerned about the labeling provisions contained within the 2002 Farm Bill,
and indicated that he wants the House Agriculture Committee, as the authorizing
committee, to review them.
The House Committee on Agriculture will hold an oversight hearing to review the COOL provisions contained within the 2002 Farm Bill Thursday, June 26 in Washington, D.C. Members are also encouraged to share their views about COOL with their Congressional representatives. NMA Government Relations Liaison Shawna Thomas is available to assist members with this process. She can be reached at [email protected] or 202-518-6383.
WORLD PORK CONGRESS
During a week’s vacation in the United Kingdom last week, NMA Executive Director Rosemary Mucklow spent a day at the 2003 World Pork Congress in Birmingham on Friday. Distinguished speakers from many countries spoke about the opportunity to shape the future of the world’s pork markets, and brought innovative insights. Concurrent translation in several languages made sure that those not fully fluent in English could participate, and made this a truly “international” event.
The speakers covered consumer trends, trade issues, technical developments and market trends for pork. The detailed program is available at http://www.worldporkcongress.com/ and NMA would be pleased to provide copies of presentations that were available. Rosemary appreciated the warm welcome by the leaders of the Congress, including Stewart Houston, a pig producer who runs a 360-sow herd in Yorkshire, and Bob Bansbeck from the Meat & Livestock Commission. Rosemary was particularly impressed with the presentation by Raoul Baxter, President for Europe and VP of Smithfield Foods, USA, who traced the development by Joe Luter for this company which is preeminent in pig production and processing in the world.
Page 2
HR 339
Last Thursday, the Commercial and
Administrative Law Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee focused on HR
339, the “Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act,” introduced by Rep.
Ric Keller (R-FL) in January. The bill would protect manufacturers and
restaurants from civil liability based upon food consumption, if the plaintiff
cannot prove that the product violated laws and product regulations. See the
February 3, 2003 Lean Trimmings for more information. The Personal
Responsibility in Food Consumption Act” would stop trial lawyers from making
the restaurant industry their next target of a class-action lawsuit, according
to a press release from Rep. Keller.
As reported last Friday in Food Chemical News (FCN), testimony
before the Subcommittee included restaurant owner Christianne Ricchi,
and public interest attorneys John Banzhaf and Victor Schwartz. Ricchi
reportedly testified that the bill “focuses attention on personal
responsibility and the voluntary menu choices all Americans make, rather than
on costly and unwarranted litigation.” According to the FCN report, she
further stated, “The thought that someone can file a lawsuit based in part on a
choice they have made regarding where to dine and what to eat is disturbing.”
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) put forth a contrary
opinion on the bill. Reportedly, CSPI said that the bill would “deprive
citizens of an important recourse” and make food industries less accountable
for their actions. In fact the bill merely recognizes a burden of proof; the
plaintiff must be able to prove that the product violated laws and product
regulations. This burden isn’t dissimilar to what a plaintiff might encounter
during court proceedings. In a press release CSPI Executive Director Michael
Jacobson said, “Frivolous lawsuits deserve to be thrown out of court, and
frivolous legislation should be thrown out of Congress – and the Keller bill is
nothing but frivolous.” The bill does seek to prevent frivolous lawsuits,
namely those do not substantiate that a manufacturer, distributor or seller of
food or non-alcoholic beverages wasn’t in compliance with applicable statutory
and regulatory requirements at the time of the product sale.
Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) Executive Director Rick Berman also
testified. “The stakes are high. Most of the attorneys meeting at this
pre-assault legal summit are veterans of multi-billion-dollar cigarette
lawsuits, and they are desperately looking for ways to make their case that
food—especially high-fat, high-calorie food—is the next tobacco,” he said. See
page 4 of Lean Trimmings for more on the summit. “Where most of us see
dinner, they see dollar signs.” He further stated, “Considering the amount of
misdirection, junk science, and shameless deception being employed by the
plaintiff’s bar, it’s clear that restaurants need some reasonable amount of
protection from the unprincipled attacks that are fast approaching.” Berman
also criticized George Washington University Law Professor John Banzhaf’s
attempt to promote a flimsy theory about the supposedly “addictive” nature of
certain foods, according to a CCF press release. Banzhaf reportedly warned top
fast food companies that they need to start warning their customers that their
next cheeseburger could have a morphine-like effect. Banzhaf’s “proof” is from
an article in the magazine New Scientist, a British consumer periodical
that is not a scientific, peer-reviewed journal like The New England Journal
of Medicine or the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The
underlying issue between the bill’s proponents and opponents appears to be
whether the satisfaction of statutory and regulatory requirements is sufficient
to protect companies from responsibility for any consumer health problems that
might be associated with a particular product. The question is: Who is
responsible for how much and what an individual chooses to eat? In a June 13,
2003 Food Chemical News article, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona
was reported as saying, “Even for the meals we eat out, it’s still our
decision,” as to what and how much we eat. At the American Enterprise
Institute’s conference on obesity and public policy, Carmona reportedly also
stated that the prescription for reversing the obesity trend is more physical
activity, better eating habits, and regular health checkups.
NMA members are urged to tell their Congressional representatives how
they feel about HR 339. NMA Government Relations Liaison Shawna Thomas is available to assist
members with this process. She can be reached at [email protected] or
202-518-6383.
ELECTRONIC
NEWSLETTER
Lean Trimmings and
Herd on the Hill are offered electronically. If you’d like to receive
the newsletter via e-mail, please contact Kiran Kernellu at [email protected] or 510-763-1533.
Receive the latest news every Monday afternoon in your inbox instead of waiting
for it in the mail!
ANIMAL
HANDLING VIDEOS
NMA has available two videotapes on animal handling,
“Animal Stunning for Stunners,” and “Animal Handling in Meat Plants.” NMA
members may purchase these videos at a discounted price. Please contact Julie
Ramsey at [email protected]
or 510-763-1533 for more information.
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
Page 3
MC
DONALD’S: PHASE-OUT GROWTH HORMONES
McDonald’s
Corporation announced plans that call for its suppliers worldwide to phase-out
use of animal growth promotion antibiotics that are used in human medicine,
according to a June 19, 2003 press release. The Global Policy on Antibiotics
Use in Food Animals also creates a set of standards for McDonald’s direct
meat suppliers and encourages indirect suppliers to take similar steps to
eliminate growth-promoting antibiotics and to reduce other antibiotic usage.
For the full text of McDonald’s Global Policy on Antibiotics Use in Food
Animals and further information about other McDonald’s social
responsibility initiatives, visit: http://www.mcdonalds.com/corporate/social/.
“Direct
relationship” suppliers are those dedicated to McDonald’s business and directly
control the stages of animal production where antibiotic use decisions are
made. The majority of McDonald’s worldwide poultry supply falls into this
category. Direct suppliers must certify annual compliance with the policy,
including the sustainable use guiding principles and the elimination of growth
promotion uses of antibiotics approved for use in human medicine, and must
maintain records of antibiotics use that are available for company audits and
review. McDonald’s policy will also be encouraged for indirect suppliers, which
includes most beef and pork suppliers. For indirect relationship suppliers,
McDonald’s Global Policy on Antibiotics Use in Food Animals offers
incentives for compliance with the policy and other actions that may reduce the
potential for antibiotic resistance. Indirect suppliers seeking consideration
as a preferred supplier in regards to the policy must also certify compliance
and maintain records of their antibiotic use. Further, McDonald’s will
encourage adoption of similar policies within the food and restaurant industry.
“As a company
committed to social responsibility, we take seriously our obligation to
understand the emerging science of antibiotic resistance, and to work with our
suppliers to foster real, tangible changes in our own supply community, and
hopefully beyond,” said Frank Muschetto, Senior Vice President of Worldwide
Supply Chain Management at McDonald’s Corporation. “McDonald’s is asking
producers that supply over 2.5 billlion pounds of chicken, beef and pork
annually to take actions that will ultimately help protect public health.”
McDonald’s Global Policy on Antibiotics Use in Food Animals was
developed with a broad-based coalition of organizations interested in the issue
and committed to identifying opportunities within animal agriculture.
AMERICAN
LAMB BOARD NAMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Board of
Directors of the American Lamb Board (ALB) hired Daniel Borschke as Executive
Director. Currently serving as President and CEO of the Dairy Council of
Wisconsin, Inc., Borschke is a Certified Association Executive and a Fellow of
the American Society of Association Executives. He is to head the ALB office in
Denver, CO beginning July 16, 2003.
“Daniel will be
the guiding force to help rekindle America’s love of American-produced lamb,”
said ALB Chairman Tom Kourlis in a press release. “His strong background in
upscale food products will be instrumental to our success. We are committed to
our promotional efforts advancing the American lamb industry.”
UPCOMING
NMA SEMINARS
July 17-18 - Advanced HACCP --
Los Angeles, CA
August 21-23 - Basic HACCP in Spanish
-- Los Angeles, CA
September 18-20 - Basic
HACCP --
San Francisco, CA
October 1-2 - Beyond Basics -- College Station, TX
Contact NMA at (510)
763-1533 for more information and registration materials.
ALL MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO JOIN
US FOR NMA’s REGULATORY UPDATE & ISSUES SEMINAR at the 2003 SUMMER
CONFERENCE!
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2003
GRAND GENEVA RESORT & SPA,
LAKE GENEVA, WI
For more information and registration materials, contact NMA at 510-763-1533 or [email protected]
Page 4
OBESITY DEBATE BURNS ON
Last Wednesday, the Center for Consumer Freedom reported that attorney
John Banzhaf III of George Washington University will launch a major offensive
against restaurants. According to a report in USA Today, he is sending
the demand in certified letters to CEOs at six major fast-food chains —
McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and Pizza
Hut — as a necessary first step, he says, toward filing a lawsuit against the
fast-food giants within six to nine months. He is demanding the posting of
signs in all restaurants warning customers that studies on animals have shown
that eating fatty foods causes addiction-like reactions. In the letter,
obtained by USA Today, Banzhaf says “a growing body of evidence”
indicates fast food “can act on the brain the same way as nicotine or heroin.”
Banzhaf was also scheduled to take part in a Boston, MA conference this
past weekend to examine legal approaches to fight obesity, according to a Reuters
report last Friday. Reportedly, the legal approach they envision would go
far beyond a few consumers accusing McDonald’s of making them fat. Conference
participants were asked to sign an affidavit vowing to keep secret potential
legal strategies. The argument is that food companies have addicted millions of
Americans to cheap, high-calorie products.
Ben Kelley, a visiting professor at Tufts University, head of the
Public Health Advocacy Institute, and one of the organizers of the conference,
reportedly said that with childhood obesity rates skyrocketing, the meeting
would look at the ways food companies promote their products to children. “It
is necessary to understand how the companies that make high-density, low-cost
food market it very aggressively to schools and kids,” he said in the Reuters
report. “We need to know what they have known about the impact of those
strategies on overeating.”
Law professor Richard Daynard of Northeastern University in Boston, MA,
said in the Reuters report that there may be appropriate grounds for a
lawsuit if it can be shown that fast food outlets knew that their marketing was
contributing to overeating and either did nothing or exploited that knowledge
for profit. Washington-based attorney John Coale reportedly said he has “no
doubt” that food companies have a strategy to hook children on fatty foods, but
is unsure whether the issue is best decided by lawmakers or by courts. “You’ve got
clowns, you’ve got happy meals - and it’s OK in moderation but it’s gotten to
the point where it’s overkill,” he said. “Still, whether it rises to the level
of a good lawsuit remains to be seen.”
FISCAL
YEAR 2003 PURCHASES
NMA has available information on the purchases for
Fiscal Year 2003. NMA members contact Kiran Kernellu at [email protected] or 510-763-1533
for a copy.
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
June 23, 2003
JAPAN’S JULY 1 DEADLINE
Japan has set a July 1, 2003 deadline for country of origin export
certificates for all beef shipped to Japan. As reported last week in Lean
Trimmings, Japan sent a proposal to APHIS suggesting that exports from the
U.S. include born, raised, and slaughtered information showing origin from the
U.S. or another BSE-free nation. Further, despite continuing dialogues,
Japanese authorities reportedly sent new regulations to their quarantine
officials and other export partners based on that proposal. Cattle Buyers
Weekly (CBW) reported today that the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) sent these notification letters to all 26
countries that export beef to Japan.
Japan also expressed concern about Canadian feeder cattle in the U.S.
and what will happen once U.S. and Canadian cattle trade resumes. CBW also
reported that the looming trade crisis with Japan could mean the ban on all
Canadian cattle and livestock into the U.S. will remain for several more weeks,
noting that observers say resolution of the trade issues might be a requirement
for lifting of the ban. In a June 20 press release, Secretary of Agriculture
Ann M. Veneman stated, “We are
continuing to work diligently to address the request from Japan and Korea to
discuss changes in their import standards as a result of the discovery of a
single case of BSE recently reported in Canada. Next week, our technical
experts will be participating in tri-lateral meetings with Canada and Japan to
examine the results of the Canadian investigation and explore additional
science-based safeguards. Japan and Korea are important markets for U.S. beef.
USDA and FDA have hosted technical delegations from these two countries and we
have dispatched technical teams to those countries to improve their
understanding of the BSE safeguard measures in place in the United States.”
She further stated, “Japan has proposed changes to their import
standards, which they announced would be effective July 1. We have requested
that Japan extend their announced July 1 deadline to provide sufficient time to
assure thorough examination and implementation of any additional science-based
safeguards that are determined appropriate as a result of these discussions.
This matter is of utmost priority and we will continue to maintain
communication at all levels to assure that this issue is resolved in an
acceptable manner using the best available science.”
ESTATE
TAX’S POSSIBLE REPEAL
The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of legislation that
would permanently repeal the federal estate tax by a vote of 264 to 163. If approved by the Senate, the bill will then go
to President Bush for his signature or veto. If HR 8 passes, taxpayers won’t be
subject to an estate tax hike beginning Jan. 1, 2011. The current estate tax
provisions will expire at the end of 2010.
NMA’S 2003 SUMMER CONFERENCE
Download a copy of the
brochure, which includes a registration form, for NMA’s 2003 Summer Conference
at: http://www.nmaonline.org/files/brochure-word.pdf.
Download a registration form for the Regulatory Issues & Update Seminar at:
http://www.nmaonline.org/files/Regulatory
Update _ Issues Seminar-2.pdf. Contact us at
[email protected] or 510-763-1533 to receive
materials for both events by fax, e-mail or mail.
ALL MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO JOIN
US FOR NMA’s 2003 SUMMER CONFERENCE!
AUGUST 20-23, 2003
GRAND GENEVA RESORT & SPA,
LAKE GENEVA, WI
For more information, contact
NMA at 510-763-1533 or [email protected]
Page
2
AMSA’S 56TH RECIPROCAL MEAT CONFERENCE
American Meat Science Association (AMSA) held it’s 56th
Reciprocal Meat Conference June 15-18. In addition, FSIS sponsored the Beef
Food Safety program the following day, June 19. CDs of the presentations should
be available mid-July and will be provided all attendees. Non-attendees who
want to purchase the CD can contact AMSA at 217-356-5368.
Monday kicked off with the Opening General Session. The Keynote Address
was “Making an Impact” by Rick Risby, Senior Lecturer, Speech Communication and
Theatre Arts/ Life Skills Coordinator, Football Program-Texas A&M. Other
speakers included Gary Smith with topic “Preparing Undergraduate Students to
Meet Meat Industry Career Challenges,” and Dr. Dan Engeljohn speaking about
“The State of Food Safety in the United States.”
Tuesday morning started with concurrent technical sessions-Meat
Quality, Sensory Evaluation, and Food Safety. Food Safety speakers included
John Sofos, Colorado State University, who spoke about the current issues
related to meatborne pathogenic bacteria. Mr. Sofos spoke of the lack of
interventions and inadequate detection methods for pathogenic bacteria.
However, some promising interventions include vaccines, diet modifications,
feed additives, probiotics, and improvement of management practices. Next was
Fred Pohlman, University of Arkansas, speaking on postharvest pathogen
interventions for meat and poultry. He stressed and encouraged people to use
multiple interventions which have been shown to be more effective in killing
greater log growths of pathogens than only using one intervention. The final
speaker was Ann Marie McNamara from NMA-member Silliker Inc. presenting “Listeria
Control in Ready to Eat Foods.” It is possible to control Listeria in
the RTE area but it is impossible to eliminate it completely. Therefore, the
most important documentation in the HACCP Plan, SSOP or prerequisite program
will be the effectiveness of the program in controlling Listeria.
Tuesday ended with industry tours of Excel’s Case Ready plant, Premium Standard
Farms, Tyson, Woods Smoked Meats, and Burger’s Smokehouse. Burger’s Smokehouse
gave a great tour of their facility, showed a short film of their family and
smokehouse history, and handed out delicious samples of their products.
Wednesday included 16 different reciprocation sessions to pick and
choose from. Some of the sessions included Livestock and Poultry Care and
Welfare, Beef/Cow Muscle Profiling, Computer Assisted Meat Science Education,
Research Protocol-Slice Shear Force, and High Pressure Pasteurization.
Wednesday afternoon had three concurrent technical sessions-Muscle Biology:
Cloning and Trangenics, Ingredient Technology, and Teaching.
Thursday was
the post-conference symposia of Beef Food Safety sponsored by FSIS. A variety
of topics were covered. Gary Acuff began with Standardizing Microbial Testing. Next,
Mohammad Koohmaraie spoke about microbial sampling to verify the slaughter
process and recent developments in hide interventions and then Ann Marie
McNamara spoke about postharvest sampling plans for ground beef and beef trim.
Dr. Dan Engeljohn presented a regulatory view on the pathogen reduction
assessment and validation. Mary
Cutshall gave an update on the Small and Very Small Plant Outreach programs and
Harshvardhan Thippareddi spoke on pathogen reduction strategies for small
operations. Finally, the symposia was concluded with presentations on new
pathogen intervention strategies by Fred Pohlman and research priorities in
food safety by James Reagan of NCBA.
LEARNING ABOUT COOL
NMA Director Todd Waldman invited several executives from Southern
California retailers to a meeting, last Tuesday, to hear a presentation by
Barry Carpenter, Deputy Administrator of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service
about COOL. Also attending the session
were members of the staff of Congresswoman Lucille Roybal Allard. After the presentation, there was a lively
Q&A session, giving the retailers the opportunity to learn not merely their
responsibility for labeling as required by the Farm Bill, but also the
penalties for failure to comply. These retailers, in one of the largest
consumer markets for ground beef in the United States, provided a diversity of
how they produce this popular product, from muscle, trimmings, coarse ground,
imported boneless, and from trimmings in their own retail operations. Everyone
came away with a lot of questions that they hope will be answered before COOL
is implemented.
MEDIA
MISSIVES ABOUT MEAT INDUSTRY
In the May
19, 2003 Lean Trimmings, it was reported that the Washington State Beef
Commission, Washington Dairy Products Commission and Midway Meats, Inc., filed
a complaint with the Washington News Council (WNC) against Seattle’s KIRO-TV.
The complaint involves a series of stories aired by KIRO-TV in November 2002
that depicted alleged inhumane handling violations at Midway. The complainants
contended that the stories were “factually inaccurate, incomplete, misleading,
sensationalized, biased” and damaging to the reputations of the complainants as
well as to that of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Washington Dairy
Products Commission reported that the Washington News Council found in favor of
the complainants in eight of the nine issues involved. NMA members contact
Kiran Kernellu at [email protected]
or 510-763-1533 for a copy of WNC’s findings in this matter.