KLA: Industry organizations reassuring the public beef is safe

KLA, NCBA, the Kansas Beef Council and other industry stakeholder groups are emphasizing the message that beef is safe in light of USDA’s announcement that a BSE case was detected through testing of a central California cow. The organizations are pointing out the system worked, as the animal was prevented from entering the food chain.

NCBA has contacted international trading partners to reassure them beef is safe. Information also has been provided to help the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative engage trading partners with positive information about the safety of U.S. beef. USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford said the California case “in no way affects the United States’ BSE status as determined by the OIE (World Organization for Animal Health)” and therefore should not affect U.S. trade.  

More than 3,000 Masters of Beef Advocacy graduates have been activated to distribute factual information about beef safety through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and other social media sites. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service also is connecting with consumers to provide information via Twitter. The Kansas Department of Agriculture is encouraging the use of social media to support the beef and dairy industries with positive food safety information. Kansas State University is providing third-party experts to answer questions from local and national media. Information also is being provided to the public via the checkoff-funded web site, www.bseinfo.org. 

The U.S. has longstanding BSE safeguards in place to protect animal and human health. The Food and Drug Administration bans ruminant material in livestock feed to prevent spread of the disease. Nonambulatory animals are not allowed to enter the human food chain. USDA bans specified risk materials, or tissues potentially carrying the BSE agent, from the food supply.

This is only the fourth case of BSE in the U.S. since the first was discovered in December 2003. USDA reports there were only 29 cases worldwide in 2011, a 99% decline from the peak in 1992. This is directly attributed to the impact and effectiveness of ruminant feed bans to control the disease. The California case is considered atypical, a very rare form of the disease not generally associated with animals consuming infected feed.

For more information visit www.kla.org.

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