Meat + Poultry - October 2007 - 8

THE FRONT PAGE

Photo courtesy of NCBA

USDA launches
food safety Web site

E. coli vaccine used
commercially for first time
CLARKSBURG, ONTARIO - The beef industry has been
talking about developing a pathogen intervention at the
farm level for more than a decade. The industry may be a
step closer to such a hurdle, because Bioniche Life Sciences Inc.'s vaccine against E. coli O157:H7 in cattle was used
for the first time this past month by a commercial beef producer in Canada.
Top Meadow Farms, an Ontario-based producer of beef,
began using the E. coli O157:H7 vaccine as part of its Top
in Field brand cattle rearing standards, under the auspices
of Canadian Food Inspection Agency regulations governing
the sale of the vaccine in Canada.
"The Bioniche vaccine provides an important pre-harvest
intervention against E. coli O157:H7 that we are very pleased
to add to our CFIA-audited Top in Field feed and husbandry
protocols," said Kym Anthony, owner of Top Meadow Farms.
"Equally, we are pleased to have the support of retailers of
our beef, such as the Highland Farms grocery chain and the
award-winning Via Allegro restaurant. All of us take food
safety to be a core obligation."
"The adoption of our vaccine by Top Meadow Farms
provides evidence that a beef producer recognizes the environmental and public health benefits that can result from
reducing the shed of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria by cattle,"
said Graeme McRae, president and CEO of Bioniche Life
Sciences Inc. "Shed bacteria can contaminate food, water
and the environment, and human exposures to this pathogen result in an estimated 100,000 cases of illness per year
in North America."
The vaccine remains under review by the CFIA and The
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. In the course of its review process, the CFIA notified Bioniche this past December that it
was agreeable to issuing permits under the Permit to Release
Veterinary Biologics regulations. The regulations allow cattle
owners, through their veterinarians, to request the vaccine
be supplied to them by Bioniche.
6

MEAT&POULTRY

October 2007

www.MEATPOULTRY.com

WASHINGTON - The Agricultural Research Service of
the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has launched a Web portal
featuring predictive microbiology modeling software designed to assist food processors in their food safety decision-making process.
The PMIP currently features information on research, regulations and resources related to Listeria monocytogenes in
ready-to-eat foods. In coming months, it will be expanded
to include other pathogen and food combinations. A searchable database allows users to find information that also may
be used to develop hazard analysis and critical control point
plans to ensure the safety of food processes.
"Scientists, food safety risk managers, researchers and
government decision-makers can use this access to predictive modeling tools and food microbiology information," said
Edward Knipling, ARS administrator. "The portal is geared
toward small and very small processors, but the information
it contains will benefit companies of all sizes."
The Web site also includes a tutorial section with instructions on using and interpreting predictive models and links
users directly to the ARS Pathogen Modeling Program and
ComBase. The Pathogen Modeling Program is a tool used by
food processing companies around the world. ComBase is an
international relational database of predictive microbiology information that contains more than 30,000 datasets describing
the growth, survival and inactivation of bacteria under diverse
environments relevant to food processing operations.
The PMIP was developed by ARS scientists at its Wyndmoor, Pa., facility working with colleagues at the USDA's
Food Safety and Inspection Service, Rutgers Univ. and Decisionalysis Risk Consultants Inc., in Canada.

Last U.S. horse slaughter plant
may close for good
CHICAGO - Belgium-owned Cavel International lost its most
recent challenge to an Illinois law banning horsemeat production for human consumption, according to a Bloomberg
report. On Sept. 21, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in
Chicago ruled the Illinois Horse Meat Act did not violate the
U.S. Constitution. Cavel, which reportedly slaughters 60,000
horses annually for its horsemeat export business, said it
would be forced to shut down if it lost the case.
Earlier this decade, the plant was destroyed by a fire, but
later reopened to the surprise of many horsemeat opponents.
And since May 2007, the plant was forced to shut down twice
following Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's signing into
law measures banning the slaughter and sale or horsemeat
for human consumption. The plant, however, managed to
stay in business following legal appeals.

http://www.MEATPOULTRY.com

Meat + Poultry - October 2007

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