FDA: Don’t touch that elk meat, consumers
By Christie Keith
February 9, 2009
I can’t decide whether the FDA or the USDA needs more urgent reform.
Oh heck, let’s just get rid of them both and get one agency to make sure our food is safe and another to make sure our drugs are.
Does that make me a socialist?
Via Barb in the comments, a sterling example of the gross incompetence of those in charge of the American food supply. Seems FDA has just announced a little bitty oopsie:
Exotic Meats USA of San Antonio, TX is initiating a voluntary recall of Elk Tenderloin because it may contain meat derived from an elk confirmed to have Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).
CWD is one of the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies, which includes BSE — “Mad Cow Disease.”
Saying concerns about the safety of the meat are purely “theoretical,” FDA adds:
At the present time, FDA believes the risk of becoming ill from eating CWD-positive elk or deer meat is remote. However, FDA strongly advises consumers to return the product to the place of purchase, rather than disposing of it themselves, due to environmental concerns.
You know how Gina created that little slogan about “Why is anyone still listening to PETA?” I think we need a new one, “Why is anyone still putting up with the FDA?”
To quote Barb:
(T)hings are really getting out of hand. I closely follow CWD, BSE, etc., and that this particular Elk meat went into the food chain is shocking!
You know what’s really sad? Considering USDA not only doesn’t require ranchers to test for BSE in their livestock but doesn’t allow them to test for it, I’m not shocked at all.
You know what’s really sad? Considering USDA not only doesn’t require ranchers to test for BSE in their livestock but doesn’t allow them to test for it, I’m not shocked at all.
This.
The USDA never took an aggressive stance on TSEs because it would cost money. Maybe a LOT of money if the numbers shook out the way that some speculated they might…
Sweeping reform? We needs it.
Comment by mikken — February 9, 2009 @ 6:35 pm
D’oh! I hate it when that happens…
Comment by YesBiscuit! — February 9, 2009 @ 7:16 pm
Oh those nasty prions! How dare they screw up big American agribusiness!
Comment by Anne T — February 9, 2009 @ 9:30 pm
And hey what’s a few more sick and dying people?
Comment by 2CatMom — February 10, 2009 @ 10:30 am
The Peanut Corp. plant in Georgia is now closed.
It got caught!
I feel the sytem will work once in a while.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — February 10, 2009 @ 11:06 am
This company is touting a vaccine that can detect E-coli in cattle. Hope it really works.
http://ca.biz.yahoo.com/pz/090210/159327.html
Comment by Barb — February 10, 2009 @ 11:08 am
I guess it is not the Peanut Corp of America in Georgia, but the branch in Texas that closed down. Sorry for the misreporting.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — February 10, 2009 @ 12:06 pm
Here’s the story on the Texas plant that closed…they found ‘possible’ salmonella.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/.....eref=ib_us
Comment by Barb — February 10, 2009 @ 1:40 pm
I just read in the Washington Post that the roasted peanuts from the Texas plant tested positive and had been shipped out of state.
Comment by Roberto — February 10, 2009 @ 2:00 pm
Wow… Glad that the last elk we got was from New Zealand. Local butcher special-ordered it for some jerk who left him hanging. He sold it to me at cost because — with all the venision available here just for the shooting — no one else wanted it.
Nom, nom — and my brain cells should stay nice and firm (or was that dense?)
Comment by SmartDogs — February 10, 2009 @ 2:26 pm
Lucky for you, SmartDogs, it appears there have been no known case of CWD in New Zealand -
New Zealand -
http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz.....ng-disease
But in recents months, there’s been plenty in the US in both Elk and Deer! And we say ‘buy US!’
South Dakota -
http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife.....esults.htm
http://www.rapidcityjournal.co.....535010.txt
Michigan -
http://www.michigan.gov/docume.....1168_7.pdf
Wyoming -
http://www.trib.com/articles/2.....081245.txt
Minnesota -
http://www.bah.state.mn.us/bah.....-01-26.pdf
USDA 2008 Report on what they ‘say’ they are going to do -
http://www.ars.usda.gov/resear.....mp;fy=2008
And…here’s just one study which talks about how these infectious ‘prions’ which cause CWD, BSE, etc…survives in soil, remaining infective -
http://www.plospathogens.org/a.....at.0020032
Point being, CWD is widespread in the US…they can’t possibly test EVERY Deer/Elk before it’s slaughtered then entered into food chain. Wild animals can contract CWD just by traversing across contaminated soil, urine or feces from infected animal.
I feel for the hunters oblivious of what they might be eating, and for those who choose not to care.
Comment by Barb — February 10, 2009 @ 3:34 pm
Itchmoforums reported back in December that CWD had been found in deer and elk heart meat. First time that a TSE had been found in a muscle meat and that was back in 2006.
Itchmo is still MIA, but here is a link to a cache of that discussion. There is a link to the research there.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/c473dd
—————————————————-
As for your ubiquitous PETA question, maybe this will help anwer that.
http://blog.peta.org/archives/.....update.php
Things like that help me to keep spending more for humanely raised turkeys.
Comment by Cooper — February 10, 2009 @ 6:49 pm
The CEO is going to be asked to taste some peanut butter from his own factory at the congressional hearing—a news source reported today.
I am very worried about this CEO—I just hope he has some good medicine for a cure.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — February 11, 2009 @ 9:32 am
He’ll probably just spend the next couple of days in the bathroom … salmonella will make healthy adults sick enough to wish for death for a couple of days … but it likely won’t kill them.
—-
As for your ubiquitous PETA question, maybe this will help anwer that.
http://blog.peta.org/archives/…..update.php
Things like that help me to keep spending more for humanely raised turkeys.
Comment by Cooper — February 10, 2009
Can you imagine how awful things would have to be to get cruelty charges in a factory farm?
Eat less meat … so you can afford to pay more to opt out of cruelty. I like the motto of the Ethicurean blog: Chew the right thing.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 11, 2009 @ 10:23 am
Yesterday, Dr. Michael Gregor of HSUS put out this release on Foie Gras:
Potential health risks associated with stressed foodstuffs:
http://www.genengnews.com/news.....e=49417483
And here’s a second write up on same story - http://www.netindia123.com/sho.....researcher
Here’s a study on this same subject:
Subject: Amyloidogenic potential of foie gras
Date: June 22, 2007 at 2:23 pm PST
http://lists.ifas.ufl.edu/cgi-.....amp;P=9621
Comment by Barb — February 11, 2009 @ 5:48 pm
Actually, they CAN test for BSE or CWD in every animal if they wanted to. The USDA forbids it because if anyone does it, it might force all the others to do so too. Japan REQUIRES BSE testing of every animal. And that is why they don’t want to buy our beef. Because the USDA won’t permit ANY U.S. companies who WANT TO COMPLY with that Japanese IMPORT requirement to actually do so.
Make no mistake folks, the USDA and FDA are not there to protect us or our pets, they are there to protect the corporations pure and simple. And it is but one of many aspects of our society that we need to fix.
I had my fill when I watched heads of the FDA LIE to Congress during the pet food meltdown subcommittee hearings. They told the Congressmen that the U.S. DOES NOT IMPORT *ANY POULTRY* FROM CHINA. That is a bald faced LIE. I did indeed send emails to the Congresspeople on that subcommittee showing them photos of the labels of the pet treat and food products from China which were indeed being IMPORTED.
It really was nice of the national pet chains to provide those label close ups, thank you very much. And the links made it so much more authentic. But did Congress listen? Nope.
The devil is in the FDA details was - not for human consumption. So it is okay for your kids to handle the dog and cat kibble or treats that might have been exposed to H5N1 bird flu at the time, it just isn’t okay for them to actually EAT the poultry, just okay for them to stick their hands in their mouths after handling the dog bowl. Yep. Protect us some more please. I cannot wait to see what else.
Comment by Dennis — February 13, 2009 @ 12:24 pm