On June 9th, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) hosted a BSE roundtable at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, MN, moderated by USDA Secretary Mike Johanns. National Renderers Association (NRA) First Vice Chairman David Kaluzny II represented the association on the roundtable panel. Other organizations represented on the panel included the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Meat Institute, National Meat Association, Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), American Farm Bureau, National Farmers Union, National Milk Producers Federation, and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.
The purpose of the roundtable was to provide a forum for an open exchange of views regarding the closed border with Canada for live cattle. There was one session on food safety and another on economic impact. Seven of the nine panelists supported the opening of the border. R-CALF and the National Farmers Union did not.
A lot of good information was put forth. The success of the USDA enhanced surveillance program was touted with over 300,000 samples tested up until that time and no positive cases. The firewalls of restricted imports, the surveillance program, and the feed rule were credited with the fact that no indigenous case of BSE had been found in the United States. Renderers were praised for their contribution to the large numbers of samples submitted to the surveillance program and for the near perfect level of compliance to the feed rule. In general, it was a pretty good day. A lot of good information was disseminated.
Then, on Friday, June 10th, Johanns went before cameras and microphones to announce that a previously tested sample that had returned an inconclusive result on the rapid test and negative on the confirmatory immunohistochemistry, or IHC, test had been subjected to the Western blot test and was positive. This sample was from a cow that was tested in November 2004. So why was it retested?
The USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG), an independent investigative agency within the USDA, was doing an audit of the surveillance program. The inspector general concluded that there were inconsistencies with the results and recommended the Western blot test. The sample was later confirmed to be positive at The Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge, England, recognized by the World Animal Health Organization, or OIE, as a world reference laboratory for BSE.
Surprisingly, everyone stayed relatively calm. NRA members attending the Congressional Fly-In were told by USDA officials the following Monday that they were going to keep everything in perspective. Safeguards were already in place. The Food and Drug Administration issued a statement of cooperation with the USDA and their commitment to continue to find ways to strengthen the feed rule.
Consumer confidence in the safety of beef remained very high the week after the announcement. No one seemed to be concerned that there was any real threat to human health.
However, the USDA has taken a great deal of flack over the handling of the situation. Some of it might be justified, but a lot of it, in my opinion, is unfair and overblown. Yes, there were some mistakes. If USDA had it to do over again, I’m sure they would do some things differently. But hindsight is 20/20. I prefer to emphasize the positive side of what USDA is doing.
This incident has brought the critics out of the woodwork, giving them the opportunity to say, “I told you so,” or to advance their own agendas. Instead of focusing on BSE, it was more of a “let’s gang up on USDA.”
Proponents of country of origin labeling, mandatory animal identification, testing of all animals, and keeping the border closed to Canada all got their oars in the water. This incident bolstered their rhetoric in that if their programs were in place, none of this would have happened.
There were some surprises at USDA. The secretary must have been embarrassed since he was not notified that the sample was being resubmitted for retesting. A colleague who has close ties to the secretary’s office said they were “blindsided,” relating it to a story out of the “West Wing” television series.
The OIG found some other inconsistencies and made recommendations to modify some of the protocols in place. These changes will strengthen the program. It doesn’t hurt to have an honest review of any government program. Unlike some other government watchdog agencies, I don’t believe the OIG had a hidden agenda or preconceived opinions.
The USDA has not disclosed the location of the herd where the cow resided (except that it was in Texas), for good reason, but this has not stopped the media. Many are trying to be the first to disclose the location and owner of the herd.
One outcome of this episode is that the enhanced testing program will continue until further notice, most likely at least through November 2005. Hopefully, if another positive is found, it won’t be much of a story.
Success in Washington
Renderers had another successful Congressional Fly-In in early June. Thirty members came to town and visited about 100 congressional offices. We also had a meeting at the USDA with the newly confirmed deputy secretary, Chuck Conner, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Administrator Dr. Ron DeHaven. Our timing was good. We met on the Monday after the Friday announcement that a retest for BSE of a cow was positive. It was at this meeting we received reassurances that the USDA understood that safety measures were in place and they intended to keep everything in perspective.
The 72nd NRA convention will be here soon. I hope you are making plans to attend. NRA’s annual convention attracts rendering industry leaders from throughout Canada, the United States, and many foreign countries. There is no other opportunity throughout the year to bring together so many in the rendering industry at one venue. The convention will be October 25-28, 2005, at Lake Las Vegas, NV. For more information, log onto www.nationalrenderers.com.
From the Association - August 2005 Render