Meat + Poultry - January 2005 - 4

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the body of scientific knowledge about
B.S.E.," said outgoing Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. "After conducting
an extensive review, we are confident
that imports of certain commodities
from regions of minimal risk can occur
with virtually no risk to human or animal health. Our approach is consistent
with guidelines established by the World
Organization for Animal Health and relies on appropriate, science-based risk
mitigation measures."
The department announced Canada
would be the first country recognized as
a minimal-risk region and eligible to export to the U.S. live cattle under the age
of 30 months, as well as certain other animals and products. U.S.D.A. conducted
a risk analysis for certain types of Canadian ruminants and ruminant products introducing B.S.E. into the U.S.
This risk analysis included consideration of the risk mitigation measures
Canada has in place to detect and prevent B.S.E. in Canadian cattle and also
the risk mitigation measures imposed
in this final rule.
The two cases of B.S.E. have prompted some U.S.-based trade associations to
ask U.S.D.A. to reassess Canada's prevention system. "In light of the recent
findings of B.S.E. in Canadian cattle,

and the fact that this last animal was
born after Canada's feed ban, we demand that U.S.D.A. and the Food and
Drug Administration investigate Canada's feed ban compliance," said Jan Lyons, president of the National Cattleman's
Beef Association. "Based on this information, U.S.D.A. and F.D.A. should determine how to proceed with regard to implementation of the Canadian rule.
"Members of N.C.B.A. are committed to normalizing global trade based
on science that protects the health of
our industry. Science shows the feed
ban breaks the cycle of this disease,
and U.S. cattlemen must be confident
of Canada's full compliance with its
feed ban.
In addition to the two new Canadian
B.S.E. cases and calls for an investigation into Canada's B.S.E. firewalls,
U.S.D.A. is also facing a legal challenge from R-Calf, Billings, Mont., a
producer group opposed to opening
the border. According to the lawsuit,
the group's plan is to prevent implementation of a decision that creates
"an unjustified and unnecessary increased risk of infection of the U.S.
cattle herd with B.S.E. and of importing meat contaminated with B.S.E.
into the U.S."

N.L.R.B. sides with
Smithfield on labor issues

Older consumers prefer
home cooking

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National
Labor Relations Board dealt the United
Food and Commercial Workers Union a
setback this past month in its attempt to
organize Smithfield Packing Co.'s Tar
Heel, N.C., plant. In its decision, the
N.L.R.B. rejected a series of remedies
imposed on the company in 2000 by an
N.L.R.B. judge that allowed union organizers access to the plant and its employees. The board left standing a finding that Smithfield Packing had committed a number of unfair labor practices
and ordered a new election to be held
at the plant.
In 1994 and again in 1997, the employees at the Tar Heel plant voted in secret
ballot elections on the question of whether
they wanted to be represented by U.F.C.W.
Both times they rejected the union.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Older American
consumers are spending proportionately more on food that they consume
at home, according to "The U.S. Market for 55+ Consumers," a new report
by market research publisher Packaged
Facts. Those between the ages of 65 and
74 allocate 8.9 percent of their expenditures to food at home, while those ages
75 and over allocate 9.2 percent. Those
figures are significantly higher than the
U.S. population at large, which allocates
around 7.6 percent.
The report goes on to show that overall spending by consumers in the 55+
age group for food at home totals over
$101 billion annually. The aging U.S.
population is 64 million strong and has
$2.4 trillion in buying power according
to the study.

MEAT&POULTRY

January 2005

www.MEATPOULTRY.com

Obesity, media
perception and the future
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new study
chronicles a shift in how the global media is covering obesity and related health
issues. The study's authors conclude the
shift is significant enough to refocus the
concerns of the food industry from litigation in the U.S. to regulation in Europe and the rest of the world.
The study, Obesity as a Media Issue by Levick Strategic Communications, Washington, D.C., and CARMA
International, Inc., underscores a dual
sea change. First is the new interest
among European media in the issue of
obesity following a period of indifference throughout most of 2003 when the
American press was widely covering the
possibility of multiple obesity-related
lawsuits against the food industry.
Second is a shift in media emphasis
from a threat of mass litigation to the
possibility of aggressive regulation in
Europe and around the world, especially regulation of advertising targeting children. "While the threat of obesity lawsuits remains a troubling possibility for global food and beverage
companies and restaurants, the real
threat is that government regulators in
Europe, and in developing countries that
emulate Europe's standards, will impose
restrictions on marketing selected foods
to children and even adults," said Gene
Grabowski, vice president of Levick
Strategic Communications.
The study examined media coverage on both sides of the Atlantic for
the period January through May 2004
and identified the most persistently
conspicuous themes and quantified
predominant media messages. The results showed both implicit and explicit media support for regulation. In the
United Kingdom, as well as France, Italy, and the Netherlands, government
is depicted as the best agent for arriving at a solution.
Meanwhile, both in the U.S. and
throughout Europe, the media continues to reflect the public's suspiciousness, even disdain, for obesity litigation. The U.K. press, for example, has
repeated that individual responsibility,
not corporate liability, is at the heart
of the matter.

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Meat + Poultry - January 2005

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