Beef Briefs: June 2011

In case you missed it…

… VealFarm.com has been redesigned in an effort to showcase food safety, responsible animal care and the farmers who produce the food.

… A new beef safety testimonial video from Jeff Clausen has been posted on the MyBeefCheckoff YouTube channel.

… U.S. beef exports continue setting records.

E. coli decline in ground beef since 2000

New federal data show that E. coli O157:H7 is found in less than one quarter of 1 percent of ground beef samples, a 72 percent decline since 2000 in ground beef samples testing positive for the pathogen.

The data are from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service 2010 year-end results of microbiological samples for raw ground beef products analyzed for E. coli O157:H7.

In 2010, there were 29 positive samples out of 11,616 taken in federal plants, no positives of 905 samples taken in retail stores and one positive out of 29 imported samples. The overall prevalence rate was 0.24 percent. The year-end data is available here.

Click here for more about the checkoff’s investment in beef safety programs.

Can Communicating with Consumers Help In Agriculture?

When surveyed, 69 percent of consumers say they believe that people can get foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) from infected meat, and many confuse FMD with bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE. To help better prepare the animal agriculture industry before outbreaks occur, Dairy Management Inc., the pork checkoff, and the beef checkoff are working together to provide producers with the tools to help inform and educate consumers that FMD is not a threat to people and does not affect the safety of meat or milk. Listen to a presentation (courtesy of Truffle Media Network) about the current state of the Cross Species FMD Communications Team.

Click here for more about checkoff-funded information, news and resources on FMD.

Videos Galore

Have you visited the MyBeefCheckoff YouTube channel lately? Recently posted: beef safety video featuring Jeff Clausen, Iowa, and testimonial video from Donnell Brown, Texas. Many of our state beef councils are also entering the video realm. Here’s the latest from the Pennsylvania Beef Council, the Nebraska Beef Council, and Texas Beef Council, just to name a few. YouTube provides an online community where beef can share its story about production practices, Beef Quality Assurance, cutting demonstrations, nutrition information and so much more. Be sure to search for your state beef council on YouTube today!

Nebraska Producer Engages in Online Outreach

Anne Burkholder, feedlot owner from Cozad, Neb., and past BQA award winner, has entered the realm of online outreach efforts by creating a checkoff-funded blog titled Feedyard Foodie. Two days after receiving her B.A. in Psychology from Dartmouth College, Anne put on her blue jeans and went to work at the cattle feedyard. She has since become an avid advocate for the cattle industry and believes it is imperative for farmers and ranchers to provide a place online where people can go to read the real story of beef, written by people who actually get their hands dirty.

Anne says she, her husband, and three daughters have a family farm and invite all those interesting in learning more about the people who are dedicated to providing safe, wholesome and nutritious beef, to join in the conversation.

Anne’s messages can also be found on Facebook.

The Winning Recipe Is In ...

… among 1,184 other entries in the 2011 National Beef Cook-Off, that is. April 30 was the deadline for recipe submissions, with this year's contest drawing a total of 1,185 recipe submissions. The breakdown of total entries received, by category, is as follows: “5:30 p.m. Dinner Crunch” – 358 entries; “Retro Recipes Revived” – 301 entries; “Fuel Up with Beef” – 336 entries; “Stir Crazy Solutions” – 190 entries. Screening and editing has begun, which will be followed by judging and finalist publicity by July 15, and announcement of the grand prize winner Nov. 5 wrapping up this transition year from past cooking events to the exciting Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show experience.

Reminder: BIQ

Remember to sign up for the checkoff-funded Beef Issues Quarterly, an issues journal providing trends intelligence to help guide the checkoff’s planning and issues management. Reports and updates provide information, and a panel of industry experts and thought-leaders provide issue forecasting and analysis on key beef industry issues.