Here are the Rules!

[rsomer]

You are absolutely right that the United State’s two faced approach to BSE is undermining consumer confidence. On the one hand the U.S. says the Washington Holstein that the USDA allowed to enter the food chain does not pose a food safety risk because the SRM’s were removed. On the other hand the U.S. continues to block imports of Canadian cows because of BSE fears. They can’t play it both ways. The consumer would be more confident if governments had a more consistent response to BSE.

Cowman: you will be interested to read these links that detail the BSE testing done in Canada since 1992. I long have been very uncomfortable with the level of testing done. While on one hand Canada was saying we were free of BSE, Canadian officials really did not act as if they wanted to find a BSE positive. The same situation exists in the U.S.
I do think our food is safe. I do think removing SRM’s is more effective at safeguarding our food supply than testing would be. That the U.S. is blocking our product is not backed up by the science.
Canada and the United States will be increasing their testing in the future. On the one hand we as Canadian producers acknowledge we are in a North American industry yet on the other hand we hear that we to have go our own way and establish Canadian protocols and standards. However, if we wish to remain part of a North American industry we will be harmonizing our response to BSE with the U.S. response. This is what we have done since BSE was first recognized as a threat. Canadian and U.S. government officials will determine an appropriate level of testing for BSE and we will proceed on that basis. I do not see the U.S. testing all their cows, therefore I do not see Canada doing it either. This said, I often dispair that we are not really part of a North American industry, every time the going gets rough Canadians are on their own.

The links are:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/ahra/bseris/bserisb1e.shtml#Btab1
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/ahra/bseris/table1e.shtml

Since Canada began testing for BSE in 1992 we have tested a total of 13,291 animals to June 2003. I really agree with more testing, how much I am not sure. I think we need to get more rational OIE rules in place first before we test all cows. That needs to be done quickly.

[cowman]

rsomer: Public perception is our main problem. As long as the Canadian and American consumer percieve beef is safe things can be worked out. Safeguards are slowly being put into place that should solve the problem.
If the Canadian and American governments are being truthful when they say they will test more animals then we should expect more BSE animals? How will they handle this? How will they convince the consumer the product is safe? Will the consumer start to demand that all cows over a certain age be tested? Or will the governments continue to stonewall and let the consumer desert the beef industry? Or will it be a sophisticated Shoot, shovel, and shutup? Pour the money into advertizing the safety rather than actually practising safety?
Are they playing games while you and me go broke? If so then why? Who benifits?

[pandiana]

Some good points cowman.

[pandiana]

"Our incidence of BSE is still very low yet we are taking all the correct measures to ensure the safety of our food product." "Since Canada began testing for BSE in 1992 we have tested a total of 13,291 animals to June 2003. I really agree with more testing, how much I am not sure."

rsomer, this is the problem, alright. Even if we had 20 or 77 infected cattle that are out there, the risk of a human case of vCJD is still extremely small. Therefore you could assume our food is safe (certainly more safe than the risk associated with meat and vegetables contaminated with pathogenic strains of E coli and Salmonella. But what if, like UK, this is the tip of the iceberg? How do we know if we have BSE or, more importantly, don't have BSE if we don't 'seriously'look for it?

[cakadu]

Seems to me if you go looking for trouble - you'll find it. As was pointed out in another thread - are we willing to do WHATEVER it takes in order to ensure what you are asking for?

I want my food as safe as possible, but I think that based on what I have read and heard that there are far greater risks than BSE will ever be to me. Part of the reason for my confidence is that I have never eaten any of the SRM and don't ever intend to.

Risk is an individual thing and is different for all of us.

I agree cowman, don't lie to the consumer, because that shakes confidence more than you know. The consumer may be fickle with all the choices out there, but they have long memories and are not willing to forgive what they perceive is anything less than the truth.

[cowman]

Linda: Of course there are greater risks out there. But one simple test eliminates this risk.
Have you ever ate SRMs? No? Are you sure? Have you ever been in a beef deboning plant? A lot of crap can end up in the meat including tiny parts of the spinal cord. At least thats how it was twenty five years ago!

[cakadu]

Cowman - I am reasonably certain that I haven't eaten SRM - as I have been told I am a finicky eater.

Except for one oversight in my youth - I ate rumaki - chicken liver wrapped in bacon and my mom was from the school of you take it you eat it - I have not knowingly ate anything remotely connected to the SRM's. I do not eat organ meats, head cheese, prairie oysters, tripe, or anything like that and never will.

I dispise it when I bite into meat and a "big old vein" comes snapping back at me.

I just don't see how we can avoid the risk entirely except to become vegetarians and even that didn't help those 2 in the U.K. To be perfectly honest - I am far more worried about food and water borne pathogens such as listeria, salmonella, e-coli and campylobacter than I am about BSE, unless and until they make a definitive link to the muscle cuts.

I also think that it has to be left up to the individual to choose based on sound information. Some people will not want to take any risk at all and perhaps eat meat that comes from non-ruminant species. Some will figure that if it's your time to go - it's your time and the rest will fit somewhere in between.

[cowman]

Well ever had a burger at MacDonalds or Wendys? But whatever, you are right, we do what we can and it does no good to be overly paranoid. You live the life of a puritan and then a damned truck runs over you, while the old drunken rake down the street dies at 90 in his comfy bed! That is life.

[ValueChainFX]

A MDM machine (mechanical Boning Machine) is typically used to pressure remove meat from neck and back bones! The end resulting product looks like red mush and is called "Badder Material" it is usually very high in calcium (due to the separation process)the processors allow 10% of this material to go into a batch of ground beef! So does the backbone and neck bones carry the SRM materials?

[cakadu]

Well cowman, if I wanted to, I suppose that I could become overly paranoid about what I am eating (I rarely eat at either of those places that you mentioned) and the bonus would be I could maybe loose those nasty 5 lbs that have been plaguing me.

On the other hand, I could be food safety conscious and do the best that I can. I'm not going to loose sleep over it because it won't do any good anyway. About the best I can do is continue to monitor on a case by case basis and become as informed as I am able to.