The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has extended the comment period for a proposed rule that would require “mechanically tenderized” labeling for raw or partially cooked needle- or blade-tenderized beef products, “including beef products injected with marinade or solution.” According to FSIS, the rule would also require the labels of mechanically tenderized beef products destined for consumers, hotels, restaurants, or similar establishments to include “validated cooking instructions” to ensure safe handling and reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Acting at the request of two trade associations, the agency will now accept comments on the new labeling scheme until October 8, 2013. Additional details about the proposed rule appear in Issue 486 of this Update. See Federal Register, August 9, 2013.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service has reportedly approved a Non-GMO Project certification seal and “Non-GMO” statement on labels for products from animals that did not consume feed containing genetically modified (GM) ingredients, such as corn, soy and alfalfa. The certification will attest that the meat, poultry and liquid egg products meet the third-party certifying organization’s standards, which USDA vetted before approving the label. The agency action followed a petition filed by the owner of Mindful Meats, which makes and sells organic grass-fed beef to Northern California restaurants and retailers, and two other companies, Hidden Villa Ranch and Pitman Farms. According to Mindful Meats’ statement, “this is the first time that a U.S. government agency has approved a non-GMO label for beef.” See The New York Times, June 20, 2013; Mindful Meats Blog, June 21, 2013.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a proposal that would require beef products undergoing a mechanical tenderization process be labeled as such and include new cooking instructions to ensure proper handling. According to an agency spokesperson, “Ensuring that consumers have effective tools and information is important in helping them protect their families against foodborne illness.” Some cuts of beef are apparently pierced by needles or sharp blades to break up muscle fibers and increase tenderness. With the possible introduction of pathogens into the interior of such products, FSIS notes that they “may pose a greater threat to public health than intact beef products, if they are not cooked properly.” Public comments will be requested within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register. See FSIS News Release, June 6, 2013.
The European Commission (EC) has released the results of its investigation into beef products contaminated with horsemeat, reporting that 5 percent of tested products were contaminated with horse DNA and 0.5 percent of tested horse carcasses were contaminated with the pain reliever phenylbutazone (bute). The investigation apparently involved 7,259 tests carried out by 27 member states in addition to 7,951 tests conducted by food business operators, including producers, processors and distributors. Based on these results, the Commission has reiterated the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA’s) assessment that bute contamination poses a low risk to consumers. “Today’s findings have confirmed that this is a matter of food fraud and not of food safety,” said EU Commissioner for Health and Consumers Tonio Borg. “Restoring the trust and confidence of European consumers and trading partners in our food chain following this fraudulent labeling scandal is now of vital importance for the European economy…
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly indicted a London, Kentucky-based cattle company and its treasurer for falsifying records related to a federal investigation and creating false documents. The charges apparently arise out of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation to determine whether the company was violating a 2006 court-ordered injunction requiring it to notify buyers if the company sells them animals with medical drugs in their systems. The order also requires the company to “identify the potential cause for the medical drugs in the animals and to refrain from purchasing animals from sellers who supply cattle that contain medical drugs.” Williams Cattle Co. treasurer Pamela Collette allegedly “falsified weekly reports that were supposed to be sent to buyers verifying that the animals sold were drug free, in an attempt to influence the outcome of the investigation. She is also alleged to have created false documents that appeared…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently issued a notice directing import inspectors to increase “species sampling and testing” on products from countries affected by the European Union’s ongoing investigation into beef contaminated with horsemeat. According to the new order, FSIS has scheduled “increased species sampling for product from Iceland, Ireland, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland via PHIS [Public Health Information System],” but dropped Brazil from the list of those countries requiring special attention from inspectors. “We are confident that the inspection system at ports of entry ensures the safety of products that come into our country every day,” said FSIS spokesperson Catherine Cochran. “However, in response to recent events and consumer concerns, we are increasing species testing to enhance current safeguards and prevent fraudulently labeled products from entering the country.” See Bloomberg, April 4, 2013.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General audit report titled “FSIS E. coli Testing of Boxed Beef” concludes that the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) must reevaluate its E. coli testing methodology and “take additional steps to ensure that beef to be ground throughout the production process—from Federally inspected slaughter establishments to local grocery stores—be subject to FSIS sampling and testing for E. coli.” According to the report, “FSIS is not testing tenderized meat products for E. coli despite several recent recalls.” The Kansas City Star noted that the report was issued three months after the newspaper published a series of stories profiling individuals who had apparently been sickened with E. coli poisoning after consuming medium-rare, mechanically tenderized steaks in restaurants. The article highlighted that “the process of mechanically blading that meat uses automated needles or knives to tenderize tougher cuts of beef, forcing pathogens into the…
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a $1.6 million award of damages and attorney’s fees in a contract dispute between General Mills and the company that sold it beef obtained from the Westland Meat Co. and recalled in 2008 after “[v]ideo footage from the Humane Society allegedly showed Westland employees improperly handling cattle designated for slaughter.” General Mills Operations, LLC v. Five Star Custom Foods, Ltd., Nos. 12-1731 and 12-1826 (8th Cir., decided January 7, 2013). General Mills destroyed the Progresso soups in which the recalled beef had been used. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to General Mills on its breach-of-contract claim and dismissed as moot the company’s cross-appeal of the lower court’s grant of summary judgment to Five Star on the breach-of-warranty claims. At issue was whether Five Star had materially breached its contract with General Mills. The contract required the…
The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF USA) sent a December 10, 2012, letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting the immediate suspension of imports of ruminants and ruminant products from Brazil after the country notified the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) about a confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) detected in a 13-year-old cow that died two years ago. R-CALF USA also asked that the suspension “remain in place until [the] agency conducts a thorough and probing investigation to determine the risk of introducing BSE into the U.S. from Brazil,” and noted that “should [the agency] choose to resume such imports from Brazil, [it] must first initiate a public rulemaking with notice and opportunity for comment.” According to an R-CALF USA press release, Brazilian officials in early 2011 subjected the cow to one of two primary tests for mad cow diseas —a histopathological test—that indicated the…
One of the 750 beef processing plant employees who lost his job in the wake of recent negative publicity involving “lean finely textured beef,” otherwise referred to in the media as “pink slime,” has reportedly filed a lawsuit in a Nebraska state court naming as defendants celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, ABC’s Diane Sawyer, a blogger, and 10 unnamed individuals. Bruce Smith, who worked as senior counsel and director of environmental, health and safety at Beef Products, Inc., is apparently seeking $70,000 in damages on the ground that the company “and its employees were unfairly and unnecessarily maligned and accused of producing a food product that did not exist, a product that critics unfairly labeled ‘pink slime.’” The publicity apparently led to the loss of numerous contracts for the product’s purchase. See The Daily Mail, December 12, 2012.
