USDA’s oversight of meat safety criticized - (LA Times)
February 7, 2008 – 5:48 pmThe U.S. Department of Agriculture has 7,800 pairs of eyes scrutinizing 6,200 slaughterhouses and food processors across the nation, but, according to this story, in the end, it took an undercover operation by an animal rights group to reveal that beef from ill and abused cattle had entered the human food supply.
The USDA announced this week that it was shutting down operations at a Chino-based meat producer, after hidden camera video showed workers there using various inhumane methods to force “downer” — or non-ambulatory — cattle to their feet and into the slaughter box.
Now, in the wake of the video’s release and the agency’s response, food industry insiders are questioning just how reliable the USDA’s inspection process is. The incidents recorded at Hallmark Meat Packing occurred under the noses of eight on-site USDA inspectors.
For the complete news item, please visit http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-usda7feb07,1,860354.story
MORE:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/news/fsnews.cfm?newsid=24119
Related posts:
American Meat Institute responds to questions about industry support of Federal oversight - (AMI Media Release)
NEW YORK: Schumer calls for legislation on meat safety - (Capital News 9)
US: Beef recall raises worry on industry oversight - (Wall Street Journal/The Denver Post/ABC News/Associated Press)
US: Bill would let small meat plants expand - (New York Times)
US: Lawmakers seek more food-safety oversight - (USA Today)
US: Witnesses call for revamped federal food safety regulations - (Science Progress)
US: House hearing contentious; AMI unveils Meat News Network - (Meatingplace.com)
WALES: Toughen-up E.coli sentences - (icWales)
US: HSUS President testifies at congressional hearing on food safety and humane handling compliance by meat industry - (Humane Society)
US: Food safety officials to review procedures after lapses in recall of tainted beef - (New York Times)
FDA has provided few details on the resources and strategies needed to implement its food protection plan - (GAO)
CANADA: Maple Leaf criticized in 2007 audit - (The Globe and Mail)
AUSTRALIA: Play safe with BBQs - (Westender)
US: We think: Obama and Congress need to put food safety on their agenda - (OrlandoSentinel.com)
OPINION: Broken food chain - (Arizona Republic)
CHICAGO: Get E. coli off the menu - (Chicago Sun-Times)
US: AMI president says undercover video reflects multiple failures at plant, in government and at activist groups - (American Meat Institute)
CALIFORNIA: Officials call for safety probe of school meat supply - (Los Angeles Times)
Whats behind an F.D.A. stamp? - (New York Times)
NEW JERSEY: Put food safety first - (New Jersey Star-Ledger)
LONDON: Poop Scoop - (rEUTERS)
BARFBLOG: Retailers can do more: market microbial food safety - (barfblog)
Marvin Norcross; worked for USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service - (Washington Post, Page C07)
Meat tainted with Salmonella was on its way to FINLAND and Sweden - (Helsingin Sanomat)
Food safety provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill - (Congressional Research Reports for the People)
UK: E.coli inquiry’s ‘horrific’ news - (BBC News)
US: Technology seen as key to upgrading food safety - (Washington Post)
OPINION: Ostrich meat microbiology - (WorldPoultry.net)
NEW ZEALAND: Canned chicken eliminates food poisoning risk - (Scoop)
EU plans to exempt small businesses from food safety rules criticized - (Caterer Search)
US: Food makers get appetite for regulation - (Wall Street Journal)
NEW JERSEY: USDA papers: Burger recall followed riskier procedures - (Fort Mill Times)
Japan criticized over child porn loopholes
Jolley: Five minutes with Dr. James Marsden & that nasty E. coli bug - (Cattle Network)
OPINION: Eat, drink and be careful - (Washington Post)
OP-ED: Bad cow disease - (New York Times)
CANADA’s meat industry amongst world’s safest - (from a press release)
US: National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection; Reestablishment- - (Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.)
ONTARIO: Another food scare - more meat inspectors really the answer? - (Food and Farming in Canada)
US: Bart wants to know more about food irradiation - (SooToday.com)
OPINION: USDA can do better - (Los Angeles Times)
WASHINGTON D.C.: Consumers urged not to eat recalled meat - (Reuters)
BARFBLOG: Bad advice from the UK Food Standards Agency - (barfblog)
WASHINGTON: Beef’s wake-up recall - (Washington Post)
BARFBLOG: Meat served at firefighters fundraiser source of E. coli O157:H7; sickens 27 - (barfblog)
U.S. agriculture secretary confident meat is safe - (USA Today/Associated Press)
PAKISTAN: Food laws violation goes unchecked - (Daily Times)
The price of food safety - (N.Y. Times)
RUSSIA ban imports in salmonella scare - (The Budapest Times)
CANADA: Rethinking the late-night donair - (Nova Scotia Chronicle Herald)
EDITORIAL: Safer salad - (The New York Times)
AUSTRALIA: Food safety under the spotlight - (Food Safety Autorid NSW)
US: National Restaurant Association calls for re-evaluation of food safety system and implementation of needed improvements at congressional hearing - (National Restaurant Association)
WASHINGTON: U.S. tightening restrictions on meat and poultry products from Canada - (The Canadian Press)
US: SLAUGHTER INSPECTION 101 - (FSIS News Release)
CHINA: Hyping safety problem is a sickness, China says - (New York Times/Reuters)
Researchers boost beef jerky safety - (from a press release)
US: Safety agencies overwhelmed by surging inspection workload - (FederalTimes.com)
US: Most recalled meat is never recovered, likely is eaten - (USA Today)
US: Committee hears about technology use in the meat industry - (U.S. House of Representatives)
Agriculture official calls U.S. meat supply safe - (Wall Street Journal/Associated Press)
US: The biggest beef recall ever - (New York Times)
NEW DELHI: Food Safety & Standard Authority to be set up in 10 days - (The Economic Times)
US: Meat treatment got approval despite safety concerns - (Washington Post)
US: Using DNA traceability to track meat and ensure safety - (Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News)
WASHINGTON: Democrats trumpet U.S. food safety legislation - (Reuters)
WASHINGTON: Food safety rules tightened after E. coli recall - (Reuters/ USA Today)
US: Feds still tracing millions of pounds of recalled meat - (USA Today)
American Humane Assn. pushes for real-time video of plant operations - (Meatingplace.com)
Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer regarding animal cruelty charges filed against employees at Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company - (USDA News Release)
ONTARIO: Dr. Randall Huffman appointed to Chief Food Safety Officer - (from a press release)
WASHINGTON: Schools keep beef off menus - (Seattle-Post Intelligencer)
U.S., NATO criticized over Afghan airstrikes
WASHINGTON D.C.: Congress to propose new food safety legislation - (American Observer)
NEBRASKA: Meat processors look for ways to keep ground beef safe - (New York Times)
Beleaguered Japanese PM resigns
NEW ZEALAND: Growing number of severe gastro illness cases - (Times Online)
UK: FSA news supplement on the meat hygiene service - (Food Standards Agency)
BARFBLOG: How to cook hamburger more from France - (barfblog)
The New York Times por fin totalmente gratuito
BLOG: One step forward for a better food safety policy - (Marler Blog)
Environmentalists dismiss G-8 emissions target
WASHINGTON: DeLauro to push food act again - (The Hartford Courant)
US: Meat recall sparks calls for food safety changes - (Wall Street Journal)
Iran ‘plans to destroy Baha’i community’
CALIFORNIA: Meat roulette - (Los Angeles Times)
Bush dedicates new embassy in Beijing
KANSAS: Inspections outdated - (Wichita Eagle)
US: Lawmakers blast food safety ‘mess’ - (CNNMoney)
Russia rejects EU partnership talks threat
PORTUGAL: Easing food safety standards for traditional products - (IPS)
Applying the food safety objective and related standards to thermal inactivation of Salmonella in poultry meat - (Journal of Food Protection (Volume 70, Number 9, pp. 2036-2044))
Brown criticized for vote retreat
US: Peril in a pot - (The New York Times)
U.S. accuses Russia of waffling on cease-fire
ONTARIO: Food safety revision endangers us all - (TheRecord.com)
US: Small type and large loopholes in new labeling laws - (New York Times)
WEB SEMINAR: Control of Listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat meat and poultry products - (National Integrated Food Safety Initiative)
LOS ANGELES: Schools scramble to find questionable meat - (Los Angeles Times)
China accuses Bush of meddling