Meat + Poultry - January 2004 - 4

markets and other industry segments with appropriate technology
that will enhance the industry's ability to track animals throughout
the livestock marketing chain to protect and improve the health of
the national herd.
Initial implementation will focus on the cattle, swine, and small ruminant industries. In transition, U.S.A.I.P. is recommending all states
have a premises identification system in place by July 2004; unique,

individual or group/lot numbers be available for issuance by February
2005; and all cattle, swine, and small ruminants possess individual or
group/lot identification for interstate movement by July 2005; all animals of the remaining species/industries identified above be in similar compliance by July 2006.
It is unclear how the Secretary of Agriculture's announcement will
affect the original timeline established by U.S.A.I.P.

Following the "index cow" from birth to slaughter
MABTON, WASH. - A small army of investigators is tracking where
the B.S.E.-infected dairy cow came from as well as where its meat
went. With no formal traceability program in place, Dr. Ron DeHaven,
U.S.D.A.'s chief veterinary officer, calls the situation a "tangled web."
The trail starts at Vern's Moses Lake Meats, Moses Lake, Wash.
There the cow was identified as a downer and tested for B.S.E. following slaughter. On Dec. 23, when U.S.D.A. announced the discovery of a B.S.E.-infected cow on U.S. soil, investigators tracked
the animal back to the Sunny Dene Ranch, a 4,000-head two
premises dairy farm in Mabton, Wash.
Working with sales records and an ear tag, the investigators'
first line of inquiry led them to a dairy "finishing" farm in Mattawa,
Wash. From Mattawa the investigation suddenly shifts. Investigators had assumed the index cow was 4-and-a-half years old
based on information obtained at the Mabton dairy. New information indicated the cow was likely imported from Canada in 2001
and is 6-and-a-half years old.
Based on the ear tag number and Canadian records, the investigation led U.S.D.A. to the preliminary conclusion that the cow's
birth herd was a dairy in Alberta, Canada. D.N.A. test results conclusively proved the index cow originated in Canada.
Investigators are now challenged with tracing the whereabouts
of all the cattle from the Alberta dairy that were sold as part of a
herd dispersal. As it stands, U.S. investigators are currently tracking
the offspring of the index cow as well as 81 other cows that were
imported into the U.S. at the same time.
"Nine are known to be part of the index herd that the positive cow
was a part," said DeHaven at a Jan. 5 press conference. Another is
on the Mattawa dairy operation and one may be in Canada." With
regard to the other 70, DeHaven said progress was being made

about where they went after they entered the U.S., but "nothing is
confirmed."
While in the Mabton dairy herd, the index cow had three offspring. U.S.D.A. officials reported that one died, the second, a heifer, was still on the Mabton farm, and the third, a bull, had been sent
to a calf-raising operation and was in a lot of 450 other calves. At
the Jan. 5 press conference, DeHaven announced all 450 calves in
the lot would be slaughtered.
According to Ed Curlett, spokesperson for U.S.D.A., the primary
reason for slaughtering the lot is expediency. "None of the bulls in
the lot have identification," he said. "So we would have to I.D., segregate and test. Then we would have to go back in and identify the
offspring." He emphasized that the more important issue is to move
along the epidemiological investigation a quick as possible.
Where did the meat go?
While others are trying to trace the index cow's birth herd, Food
Safety and Inspection Service inspectors are trying to trace where
the meat from the index cow as well as 19 others slaughtered at
Vern's Moses Lake Meats on Dec. 9 went. A recall was implemented on Dec. 24, and officials have determined that the meat was
sold to Mid Way Meats, Centralia, Wash., a processor that then
sold the meat to two further processors, Interstate Meats, Clackamas, Ore., and Williamette Valley Meats, Portland.
Interstate Meats ground the product and distributed it to customers in Oregon and Washington. Williamette Valley Meats sold
the trimmings to mom-and-pop facilities in Washington, Oregon,
California and Nevada. Out of the 10,000 pounds of product recalled, F.S.I.S. was initially able to recover 25 percent that had yet
to be distributed.

Slamming the door - U.S. beef banned
WASHINGTON, D.C. - International reaction to the news the U.S.
had discovered a B.S.E.-infected cow in Washington state was swift.
Japan, Mexico and South Korea, the top three export markets for
U.S. beef, all implemented bans.
A delegation of U.S. trade representatives traveled to Japan and
South Korea shortly after the discovery and, not unexpectedly, came
back empty handed. An article published by Forbes.com on January
6 quotes Yoshiyuki Kamei, Japan's agriculture minister, as saying,
"The U.S. safeguards are not up to the level of those in Japan." The
day before, Kamei was quoted as saying he had some doubts about
the effectiveness of U.S. safeguards, according to Forbes.
The beef bans have presented the U.S. with both short and long
term issues, according to Phil Seng, C.E.O. of the U.S. Meat Export
4

MEAT&POULTRY

Federation, Denver. "We estimate there are 1,800 to 2,000 containers of beef and beef products that left our shore prior to the announcement of a suspected case of B.S.E. in the U.S.," he said.
"These containers of highly perishable product are being held hostage because our trading partners closed their borders at the moment of the announcement.
"Long term we must reopen closed international borders. In 2003
we were on track to sell beef and beef products valued at more than
$3.5 billion and our beef exports were expected to grow another 5
percent to 7 percent in 2004."
On Jan. 5, U.S.D.A. announced a delegation of trade representatives would be traveling to Mexico to discuss trade restrictions.

www.MEATPOULTRY.com

JANUARY 2004

http://www.Forbes.com http://www.MEATPOULTRY.com

Meat + Poultry - January 2004

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meat + Poultry - January 2004