2015
R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America
"Fighting for the U.S.Cattle Producer"
For Immediate Release
February 23, 2015
20th BSE Case Raises New Concerns about Canada's Feeding Practices and
Voluntary Testing Program; Highlights Importance of COOL
Billings, Mont. - On February 13, 2015, Canada confirmed its 20th case of
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) in a native-born
animal. Although Canada obtained confirmation of this latest case on February
11, it withheld information regarding the age of the cow until February 18,
2015.
As shown by R-CALF USA's BSE lifespan chart, at 71 months of age this beef
cow is the sixth youngest BSE-infected cow to be detected in Canada. Also, the
cow was born and raised in the province of Alberta, which R-CALF USA refers to
as a "BSE hotspot" because, as R-CALF USA's BSE matrix shows, 75 percent of
Canada's 20 BSE-positive, native-born cattle originated there. Canada's
confirmation also establishes that the cow was infected with classical BSE,
which is the strain many scientists believe is spread via the consumption of
contaminated feed. In contrast, the atypical strain of BSE typically affects
much older animals and is believed by some scientists to occur randomly or
sporadically in nature.
All three of the BSE cases detected in native-born United States cattle
were of the atypical strain not known to be caused by the now unlawful practice
of feeding ruminant tissues to ruminants. The only case of classical BSE
detected in the United States was a cow imported from Alberta, Canada, and
subsequently detected with the disease in the states of Washington in 2003.
Based on scientific evidence linking the length of the disease's incubation
period to the amount of infectivity ingested, the cow's relatively young age
indicates she had consumed a relatively high level of infectivity, at least as
high as that which caused the infection of Canada's comparably-aged BSE cases
detected in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Canada resisted making any improvements to its 1997 ruminant-to-ruminant
feed ban until after it had detected multiple BSE-positive cattle born well
after the implementation of its feed ban, indicating its original feed ban was
ineffective at arresting the spread of BSE in Canada. Canada's enhanced feed ban
was then implemented July 2007 and Canada's newest BSE case is the country's
first recorded BSE case born after the implantation of its upgraded feed
ban.
"Given this new evidence that the BSE agent is still circulating in
Canada's animal feed system, it is more likely than not that Canada's inferior
testing program has failed to detect many other BSE-infected cattle, including
asymptomatic cattle entering Canada's food system," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill
Bullard.
Unlike other nations that instituted mandatory testing requirements for
cattle entering the food chain after detecting multiple cases of classical BSE,
Canada relies only on a voluntary testing program. The mandatory testing
programs in the European Union and Japan successfully removed BSE-infected
cattle that were entering the food system even though the infected cattle did
not show any signs of the disease. This is because testing can identify
BSE-positive cattle several months prior to the animal exhibiting any signs of
neurological disorder.
Under the United States recently implemented country of origin labeling
(COOL) law, beef that is derived from Canadian cattle can be distinguished in
U.S. retail grocery stores because all muscle cuts of beef and ground beef are
now required to be labeled as to their origin.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently
concluded that Congress' objective in implementing COOL included "empowering
consumers to take possible country-specific differences in safety practices into
account." The court also acknowledged that COOL can provide economy-wide
benefits by "confining the market impact of a disease outbreak."
"The court found that U.S. consumers can use COOL to avoid purchasing meat
from countries like Canada that refuse to implement a responsible testing
program to keep diseased animals out of their food system," Bullard said.
"It is troubling that instead of acting responsibly by adopting the
tried-and-proven eradication measures successfully used in the European Union
and Japan, the Canadian Minister of Agriculture and other Canadian officials are
bulling our U.S. Congress and U.S. citizens into repealing COOL, which is the
consumers' last line of defense when foreign governments try to cut food safety
corners.
"Canadian officials are essentially saying that if the U.S. does not agree
to hide the origins of their meat in the U.S. market then they will retaliate
against us, which is precisely what they are attempting to accomplish with their
COOL complaint filed at the World Trade Organization.
"Congress and the public should ignore Canada's pompous posturing against
COOL and instead work to demand that Canada be more responsible in its disease
eradication efforts, particularly by implementing a mandatory testing program
and strengthening its feed ban," concluded Bullard.
# # #
R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of
America) is the largest producer-only cattle trade association in the United
States. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the
continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. For more
information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.
============================
2005
2/5/2005 2:34:00 PM
R-Calf Cattle Update: USDA Misleads Senate Agriculture Committee
(Billings, Mont.) - R-CALF USA reacted with disappointment to most of
Thursday's testimony provided by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to the
Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee during a hearing on
"Examining the effects of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) on U.S. imports
and exports of cattle and beef."
"The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) continues to adhere to
science that simply does not exist," pointed out Bill Bullard, R-CALF USA CEO.
"Secretary Johanns' testimony is inconsistent with what's on record regarding
BSE."
Bullard said that while USDA claims to be taking a world leadership
position by formulating a protection plan that it says incorporates the most
recently discovered science on BSE, USDA actually has rejected internationally
known and established science-based standards in favor of optimistic assumptions
based instead on wishful thinking.
USDA's Final Rule, in the following ways, compromises science acknowledged
throughout the rest of the world:
1) It adopts the Specified Risk Materials (SRM) removal practices
recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health (OlE) and practiced in
the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) for years - except that USDA
only includes some high-risk tissues in its SRM removal plan (fewer tissues than
included in the standard risk-reduction practices in the UK and the EU). USDA's
Final Rule does not begin removal of SRMs at the age where OlE, the UK, and the
EU consider it necessary. USDA's Final Rule requires SRM removal only from
cattle over 30 months of age, while European countries require removal of SRMs
in all cattle over 12 months of age. OlE recommends SRM removal from cattle over
6 months of age for countries with the same disease characteristics as Canada.
2) It adopts a BSE testing/surveillance program as recommended by OlE and
as practiced by the UK and the EU for years, except that USDA's Final Rule fails
to target cattle that enter the human food chain, as recommended by OlE and as
practiced by the UK and the EU.
3) It adopts part of a meat-and-bone meal (MBM) feed ban, as has been
recommended by OlE and as practiced by the UK and the EU for years, except that
USDA fails to require Canada to have had its feed ban in place for the length of
time recommended by OlE. USDA's Final Rule also fails to include the same
products as the feed bans practiced by the UK and the EU, both of which ban
blood and poultry litter from cattle feed.
"The BSE standards being incorporated by USDA are inferior to international
standards established by OlE, and far below the science-based practices of
countries that have successfully reduced the incidence of BSE," Bullard said.
"Canada does not meet the definition of a minimal-risk country, based on
international guidelines, and this is why 33 countries still ban Canadian beef.
It's not clear why USDA should force U.S. consumers to be exposed to risks that
other countries protect their citizens from."
Durng Thursday's hearing, Johanns asserted that continuing the ban on
Canadian cattle would hasten the shift of meat-processing facilities from the
U.S. to Canada, which could result in long-term damage to U.S. producers.
"The shift in processing is occurring because USDA already is providing an
export market for Canadian boneless beef, even though Canada does not meet the
basic standards required in all BSE; minimal-risk countries," Bullard explained.
"In effect, USDA's Final Rule makes the U.S. a
1 of 2
dumping ground for Canadian beef products that 33 other countries -
including major U.S. export customers - still won't accept.
"The market USDA is creating for exporting substandard Canadian beef
products to the U.S. - without paying the costs that other countries incur to
adequately protect against BSE - makes Canada more economically attractive to
U.S. meat processors," he said.
"USDA continues to jeopardize the long-term well being of the U.S. cattle
industry by allowing undifferentiated beef from Canada to be imported into the
U.S., and under OIE guidelines, Canada is a moderate-risk BSE country," Bullard
said. "The bottom line is that the only significant export market for Canadian
beef today - and in the foreseeable future - is the United States. USDA's Final
Rule would make the United States the only major importing nation to accept beef
from a country that does not meet the standards required in the rest of the
world.
"So, it's USDA own policy alone that promotes a shift of the processing
industry to Canada," Bullard said. "And it's a real irony that USDA is now
arguing that halting the expansion of the market for substandard Canadian
products in the U.S. will damage the U.S. industry.
"The truth is that USDA is playing with fire," emphasized Bullard. "If USDA
has underestimated the severity of the BSE problem in Canada - as current events
suggest - the long-term negative impact of allowing any Canadian beef into the
U.S. will cause far greater damage to the U.S. industry than the projected harm
caused by a shift in processing."
R-CALF
================================
2005
Congress of the United States Washington, DC 20515
January 5, 2005
The Honorable Michael Johanns Governor
State of Nebraska
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 94848 Lincoln, NE 68509-4848
Dear Governor Johanns:
On January 4, 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it
would lift the ban on cattle imports from Canada, effective on March 7. A
principal rationale for USDA's decision is that Canada has a "rigorous" and
"effective" feed ban in place, which prevents the spread of "mad cow disease" by
preventing protein derived from cattle from being fed to cattle.
It appears, however, that USDA has failed to review significant evidence
that calls into question the effectiveness of the Canadian feed ban. If, as
expected, you are confirmed as Secretary of Agriculture, we urge you to assess
this new information carefully before proceeding with the plan to reopen the
U.S. border to the importation of millions of Canadian cattle.
We have learned that:
" U.S. regulators have discovered animal muscle, hair, blood and bone in
Canadian feed. Over the last 15 months, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) has issued "import alerts" blocking the importation of products from 17
Canadian companies, including two of the largest feed manufacturers in the
country. FDA found muscle tissue in 15 products, animal hair in five, blood in
eight, and bone in two. Eight "import alerts'' on Canadian feed are still active
today. "
Recent tests have shown that Canadian feed often contains unanticipated
animal protein. Over two-thirds of samples of vegetarian animal feed
manufactured in Canada and recently tested by the Canadian regulators contained
"undeclared animal materials." In an internal memo, a senior regulator called
the test results "worrisome."
Major noncompliance with Canadian feed rules persists. Recent inspections
have revealed that seven Canadian feed mills had "major non-compliance" issues,
and three were failing "to prevent contamination of... feeds." In one recent
case, potentially contaminated feed was consumed by cattle.
Canada recognizes gaps in its own feed ban. On December 10, 2004, Canadian
regulators concluded that "the current framework provides opportunities for
prohibited proteins to be accidentally included in or cross-contaminate feeds."
Canada then proposed changes to its feed ban.
The Honorable Michael Johanns January 5, 2005 Page 2
These findings, which are discussed in detail in the attachments to this
letter, have significant implications. The recent discovery of another case of
mad cow disease in Canada underscores the potential risk of inadequate measures
to prevent the spread of the disease. If Canada's feed ban is not effective,
then Canada does not qualify as a "minimal risk" country under the new
definition put forward by USDA, and the importation of Canadian cattle cannot
resume. It is imperative that these issues be thoroughly investigated before
authorizing Canadian imports.
For these reasons, we urge you to consult with FDA about the "import
alerts" against Canadian feed suppliers and assess their implications for the
effectiveness of the Canadian feed ban. We also urge you to review the Canadian
documents questioning industry's compliance with the feed ban and to talk to
Canadian officials about the limitations of their current feed ban.
After undertaking this investigation, we urge you to appear before Congress
to communicate your findings.
Sincerely,
Henry A. Waxman Ranking Minority Member Committee on Government Reform U.S.
House of Representatives Kent Conrad Senator U.S. Senate
PLEASE SEE FULL TEXT 9 PAGES...TSS
"If the science doesn't fit what the White House wants it to be, it
distorts the science."
2015
Friday, February 20, 2015
A BSE CANADIAN COW MAD COW UPDATE Transcript - Briefing (February 18, 2015)
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
OIE Bovine spongiform encephalopathy ,Canada
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Confirms Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
(BSE) in Alberta
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
*** Alberta Canada First case of chronic wasting disease found in farm elk
since 2002
Discussion:
The C, L and H type BSE cases in Canada exhibit molecular characteristics
similar to those described for classical and atypical BSE cases from Europe and
Japan.
*** This supports the theory that the importation of BSE contaminated
feedstuff is the source of C-type BSE in Canada.
*** It also suggests a similar cause or source for atypical BSE in these
countries. ***
see page 176 of 201 pages...tss
*** PLOS Singeltary reply ; Molecular, Biochemical and Genetic
Characteristics of BSE in Canada Singeltary reply ;
PLOS Singeltary Comment ;
*** ruminant feed ban for cervids in the United States ? ***
31 Jan 2015 at 20:14 GMT
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy: Atypical Pros and Cons
Saturday, January 31, 2015
RAPID ADVICE 17-2014 : Evaluation of the risk for public health of casings
in countries with a “negligible risk status for BSE” and on the risk of
modification of the list of specified risk materials (SRM) with regard to BSE
10,000,000+ LBS. of PROHIBITED BANNED MAD COW FEED I.E. BLOOD LACED MBM IN
COMMERCE USA 2007
Date: March 21, 2007 at 2:27 pm PST
RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINES -- CLASS II
PRODUCT
Bulk cattle feed made with recalled Darling's 85% Blood Meal, Flash Dried,
Recall # V-024-2007
CODE
Cattle feed delivered between 01/12/2007 and 01/26/2007
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Pfeiffer, Arno, Inc, Greenbush, WI. by conversation on February 5, 2007.
Firm initiated recall is ongoing.
REASON
Blood meal used to make cattle feed was recalled because it was cross-
contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal that had been
manufactured on common equipment and labeling did not bear cautionary BSE
statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
42,090 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
WI
___________________________________
PRODUCT
Custom dairy premix products: MNM ALL PURPOSE Pellet, HILLSIDE/CDL Prot-
Buffer Meal, LEE, M.-CLOSE UP PX Pellet, HIGH DESERT/ GHC LACT Meal, TATARKA, M
CUST PROT Meal, SUNRIDGE/CDL PROTEIN Blend, LOURENZO, K PVM DAIRY Meal, DOUBLE B
DAIRY/GHC LAC Mineral, WEST PIONT/GHC CLOSEUP Mineral, WEST POINT/GHC LACT Meal,
JENKS, J/COMPASS PROTEIN Meal, COPPINI - 8# SPECIAL DAIRY Mix, GULICK, L-LACT
Meal (Bulk), TRIPLE J - PROTEIN/LACTATION, ROCK CREEK/GHC MILK Mineral,
BETTENCOURT/GHC S.SIDE MK-MN, BETTENCOURT #1/GHC MILK MINR, V&C DAIRY/GHC
LACT Meal, VEENSTRA, F/GHC LACT Meal, SMUTNY, A- BYPASS ML W/SMARTA, Recall #
V-025-2007
CODE
The firm does not utilize a code - only shipping documentation with
commodity and weights identified.
RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Rangen, Inc, Buhl, ID, by letters on February 13 and 14, 2007. Firm
initiated recall is complete.
REASON
Products manufactured from bulk feed containing blood meal that was cross
contaminated with prohibited meat and bone meal and the labeling did not bear
cautionary BSE statement.
VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
9,997,976 lbs.
DISTRIBUTION
ID and NV
END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR MARCH 21, 2007
2013
Sunday, December 15, 2013
FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEED
VIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OIA UPDATE DECEMBER 2013 UPDATE
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEED
VIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OAI UPDATE DECEMBER 2014 BSE TSE PRION
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Could we spot the next BSE?, asks BVA President
Thursday, July 24, 2014
*** Protocol for further laboratory investigations into the distribution of
infectivity of Atypical BSE SCIENTIFIC REPORT OF EFSA
Saturday, June 12, 2010
PUBLICATION REQUEST AND FOIA REQUEST Project Number: 3625-32000-086-05
Study of Atypical Bse
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Reverse Freedom of Information Act request rFOIA FSIS USDA APHIS TSE PRION
aka BSE MAD COW TYPE DISEASE December 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
MAD COW USDA TSE PRION COVER UP or JUST IGNORANCE, for the record AUGUST
2014
Thursday, October 02, 2014
[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0064] Concurrence With OIE Risk Designations for
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Saturday, August 14, 2010
BSE Case Associated with Prion Protein Gene Mutation (g-h-BSEalabama) and
VPSPr PRIONPATHY
2009 UPDATE ON ALABAMA AND TEXAS MAD COWS 2005 and 2006
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Maine Firm Recalls Ribeye and Carcass Products That May Contain Specified
Risk Materials SRM TSE PRION aka mad cow type disease
Friday, December 19, 2014
Rancho Alleged Cancerous Eyeball Case Going To Trial
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Wisconsin Firm Recalls Beef Tongues That May Contain Specified Risk
Materials Nov 9, 2012 WI Firm Recalls Beef Tongues
Saturday, July 23, 2011
CATTLE HEADS WITH TONSILS, BEEF TONGUES, SPINAL CORD, SPECIFIED RISK
MATERIALS (SRM's) AND PRIONS, AKA MAD COW DISEASE
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Wisconsin Firm Recalls Beef Tongues That Contain Prohibited Materials SRM
WASHINGTON, October 17, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Nebraska Firm Recalls Beef Tongues That Contain Prohibited Materials SRM
WASHINGTON, Oct 15, 2009
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Texas Firm Recalls Cattle Heads That Contain Prohibited Materials
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Missouri Firm Recalls Cattle Heads That Contain Prohibited Materials
SRMs
Friday, August 8, 2008
Texas Firm Recalls Cattle Heads That Contain Prohibited Materials SRMs
941,271 pounds with tonsils not completely removed
Saturday, April 5, 2008
SRM MAD COW RECALL 406 THOUSAND POUNDS CATTLE HEADS WITH TONSILS
KANSAS
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Consumption of beef tongue: Human BSE risk associated with exposure to
lymphoid tissue in bovine tongue in consideration of new research findings
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Consumption of beef tongue: Human BSE risk associated with exposure to
lymphoid tissue in bovine tongue in consideration of new research findings
Friday, October 15, 2010
BSE infectivity in the absence of detectable PrPSc accumulation in the
tongue and nasal mucosa of terminally diseased cattle
SPECIFIED RISK MATERIALS SRMs
Thursday, November 18, 2010
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA VS GALEN J. NIEHUES FAKED MAD COW FEED TEST ON 92
BSE INSPECTION REPORTS FOR APPROXIMATELY 100 CATTLE OPERATIONS
Dustin Douglass was indicted and charged with making a fraudulent
application to the VA, in an effort to obtain benefits from injuries Douglas
represented he suffered while deployed in Iraq. Based on his application, the VA
provided benefits totaling $22,148.53. Douglass claimed he suffered various
injuries and illnesses as a result of his service in combat. The investigation
revealed Douglass had, in fact, been deployed to Iraq, but had served as a
computer specialist, had never been in combat, and did not suffer the
service-related injuries and illnesses he claimed to have suffered. Douglass was
placed on supervised release for 3 years, and required to pay $22,148.53 in
restitution. Galen Niehues, an inspector for the Nebraska Department of
Agriculture, (NDA), was convicted of mail fraud for submitting falsified reports
to his employer concerning inspections he was supposed to perform at Nebraska
cattle operations. Niehues was tasked with performing inspections of Nebraska
ranches, cattle and feed for the presence of neurological diseases in cattle
including Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as “Mad Cow
Disease”. Niehues was to identify cattle producers, perform on-site inspections
of the farm sites and cattle operations, ask producers specific questions about
feed, and take samples of the feed. Niehues was to then submit feed samples for
laboratory analysis, and complete reports of his inspections and submit them to
the NDA and to the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). An investigation
by the FDA and NDA revealed Niehues had fabricated approximately 100 BSE
inspections and inspection reports. When confronted, Niehues admitted his
reports were fraudulent, and that had fabricated the reports and feed samples he
submitted to the NDA. Niehues received a sentence of 5 years probation, a 3-year
term of supervised release, and was required to pay $42,812.10 in
restitution.
Date: June 21, 2007 at 2:49 pm PST
Owner and Corporation Plead Guilty to Defrauding Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) Surveillance Program
An Arizona meat processing company and its owner pled guilty in February
2007 to charges of theft of Government funds, mail fraud, and wire fraud. The
owner and his company defrauded the BSE Surveillance Program when they falsified
BSE Surveillance Data Collection Forms and then submitted payment requests to
USDA for the services. In addition to the targeted sample population (those
cattle that were more than 30 months old or had other risk factors for BSE), the
owner submitted to USDA, or caused to be submitted, BSE obex (brain stem)
samples from healthy USDA-inspected cattle. As a result, the owner fraudulently
received approximately $390,000. Sentencing is scheduled for May 2007.
snip...
Topics that will be covered in ongoing or planned reviews under Goal 1
include:
soundness of BSE maintenance sampling (APHIS),
implementation of Performance-Based Inspection System enhancements for
specified risk material (SRM) violations and improved inspection controls over
SRMs (FSIS and APHIS),
snip...
The findings and recommendations from these efforts will be covered in
future semiannual reports as the relevant audits and investigations are
completed.
4 USDA OIG SEMIANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS FY 2007 1st Half
-MORE Office of the United States Attorney District of Arizona
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For Information Contact Public Affairs
February 16, 2007 WYN HORNBUCKLE Telephone: (602) 514-7625 Cell: (602)
525-2681
CORPORATION AND ITS PRESIDENT PLEAD GUILTY TO DEFRAUDING GOVERNMENT’S MAD
COW DISEASE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM
PHOENIX -- Farm Fresh Meats, Inc. and Roland Emerson Farabee, 55, of
Maricopa, Arizona, pleaded guilty to stealing $390,000 in government funds, mail
fraud and wire fraud, in federal district court in Phoenix. U.S. Attorney Daniel
Knauss stated, “The integrity of the system that tests for mad cow disease
relies upon the honest cooperation of enterprises like Farm Fresh Meats. Without
that honest cooperation, consumers both in the U.S. and internationally are at
risk. We want to thank the USDA’s Office of Inspector General for their
continuing efforts to safeguard the public health and enforce the law.” Farm
Fresh Meats and Farabee were charged by Information with theft of government
funds, mail fraud and wire fraud. According to the Information, on June 7, 2004,
Farabee, on behalf of Farm Fresh Meats, signed a contract with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (the “USDA Agreement”) to collect obex samples from
cattle at high risk of mad cow disease (the “Targeted Cattle Population”). The
Targeted Cattle Population consisted of the following cattle: cattle over thirty
months of age; nonambulatory cattle; cattle exhibiting signs of central nervous
system disorders; cattle exhibiting signs of mad cow disease; and dead cattle.
Pursuant to the USDA Agreement, the USDA agreed to pay Farm Fresh Meats $150 per
obex sample for collecting obex samples from cattle within the Targeted Cattle
Population, and submitting the obex samples to a USDA laboratory for mad cow
disease testing. Farm Fresh Meats further agreed to maintain in cold storage the
sampled cattle carcasses and heads until the test results were received by Farm
Fresh Meats.
Evidence uncovered during the government’s investigation established that
Farm Fresh Meats and Farabee submitted samples from cattle outside the Targeted
Cattle Population. Specifically, Farm Fresh Meats and Farabee submitted, or
caused to be submitted, obex samples from healthy, USDA inspected cattle, in
order to steal government moneys.
Evidence collected also demonstrated that Farm Fresh Meats and Farabee
failed to maintain cattle carcasses and heads pending test results and falsified
corporate books and records to conceal their malfeasance. Such actions, to the
extent an obex sample tested positive (fortunately, none did), could have
jeopardized the USDA’s ability to identify the diseased animal and pinpoint its
place of origin. On Wednesday, February 14, 2007, Farm Fresh Meats and Farabee
pleaded guilty to stealing government funds and using the mails and wires to
effect the scheme. According to their guilty pleas:
(a) Farm Fresh Meats collected, and Farabee directed others to collect,
obex samples from cattle outside the Targeted Cattle Population, which were not
subject to payment by the USDA;
(b) Farm Fresh Meats 2 and Farabee caused to be submitted payment requests
to the USDA knowing that the requests were based on obex samples that were not
subject to payment under the USDA Agreement;
(c) Farm Fresh Meats completed and submitted, and Farabee directed others
to complete and submit, BSE Surveillance Data Collection Forms to the USDA’s
testing laboratory that were false and misleading;
(d) Farm Fresh Meats completed and submitted, and Farabee directed others
to complete and submit, BSE Surveillance Submission Forms filed with the USDA
that were false and misleading;
(e) Farm Fresh Meats falsified, and Farabee directed others to falsify,
internal Farm Fresh Meats documents to conceal the fact that Farm Fresh Meats
was seeking and obtaining payment from the USDA for obex samples obtained from
cattle outside the Targeted Cattle Population; and
(f) Farm Fresh Meats failed to comply with, and Farabee directed others to
fail to comply with, the USDA Agreement by discarding cattle carcasses and heads
prior to receiving BSE test results. A conviction for theft of government funds
carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment. Mail fraud and wire fraud
convictions carry a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment. Convictions for
the above referenced violations also carry a maximum fine of $250,000 for
individuals and $500,000 for organizations. In determining an actual sentence,
Judge Earl H. Carroll will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide
appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those
guidelines in determining a sentence.
Sentencing is set before Judge Earl H. Carroll on May 14, 2007. The
investigation in this case was conducted by Assistant Special Agent in Charge
Alejandro Quintero, United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector
General. The prosecution is being handled by Robert Long, Assistant U.S.
Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix. CASE NUMBER: CR-07-00160-PHX-EHC RELEASE
NUMBER: 2007-051(Farabee) # # #
WE can only hope that this is a single incident. BUT i have my doubts. I
remember when the infamous TOKEN Purina Feed Mill in Texas was feeding up to 5.5
grams of potentially and probably tainted BANNED RUMINANT feed to cattle, and
the FDA was bragging at the time that the amount of potentially BANNED product
was so little and the cattle were so big ;
"It is important to note that the prohibited material was domestic in
origin (therefore not likely to contain infected material because there is no
evidence of BSE in U.S. cattle), fed at a very low level, and fed only once. The
potential risk of BSE to such cattle is therefore exceedingly low, even if the
feed were contaminated."
On Friday, April 30 th , the Food and Drug Administration learned that a
cow with central nervous system symptoms had been killed and shipped to a
processor for rendering into animal protein for use in animal feed. ... FDA's
investigation showed that the animal in question had already been rendered into
"meat and bone meal" (a type of protein animal feed). Over the weekend FDA was
able to track down all the implicated material. That material is being held by
the firm, which is cooperating fully with FDA.
WE now know all that was a lie. WE know that literally Thousands of TONS of
BANNED and most likely tainted product is still going out to commerce. WE know
now and we knew then that .005 to a gram was lethal. WE know that CWD infected
deer and elk, scrapie infected sheep, BSE and BASE infected cattle have all been
rendered and fed back to livestock (including cattle) for human and animal
consumption.
Paul Brown, known and respected TSE scientist, former TSE expert for the
CDC said he had ''absolutely no confidence in USDA tests before one year ago'',
and this was on March 15, 2006 ;
"The fact the Texas cow showed up fairly clearly implied the existence of
other undetected cases," Dr. Paul Brown, former medical director of the National
Institutes of Health's Laboratory for Central Nervous System Studies and an
expert on mad cow-like diseases, told United Press International. "The question
was, 'How many?' and we still can't answer that."
Brown, who is preparing a scientific paper based on the latest two mad cow
cases to estimate the maximum number of infected cows that occurred in the
United States, said he has "absolutely no confidence in USDA tests before one
year ago" because of the agency's reluctance to retest the Texas cow that
initially tested positive.
USDA officials finally retested the cow and confirmed it was infected seven
months later, but only at the insistence of the agency's inspector general.
"Everything they did on the Texas cow makes everything USDA did before 2005
suspect," Brown said. ...snip...end
CDC - Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Variant Creutzfeldt ... Dr. Paul
Brown is Senior Research Scientist in the Laboratory of Central Nervous System
... Address for correspondence: Paul Brown, Building 36, Room 4A-05, ...
PAUL BROWN COMMENT TO ME ON THIS ISSUE
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 11:10 AM
"Actually, Terry, I have been critical of the USDA handling of the mad cow
issue for some years, and with Linda Detwiler and others sent lengthy detailed
critiques and recommendations to both the USDA and the Canadian Food Agency."
OR, what the Honorable Phyllis Fong of the OIG found ;
Finding 2 Inherent Challenges in Identifying and Testing High-Risk Cattle
Still Remain
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Department of Justice Former Suppliers of Beef to National School Lunch
Program Settle Allegations of Improper Practices and Mistreating Cows
seems USDA NSLP et al thought that it would be alright, to feed our
children all across the USA, via the NSLP, DEAD STOCK DOWNER COWS, the most high
risk cattle for mad cow type disease, and other dangerous pathogens, and they
did this for 4 years, that was documented, then hid what they did by having a
recall, one of the largest recalls ever, and they made this recall and masked
the reason for the recall due to animal abuse (I do not condone animal abuse),
not for the reason of the potential for these animals to have mad cow BSE type
disease (or other dangerous and deadly pathogens). these TSE prion disease can
lay dormant for 5, 10, 20 years, or longer, WHO WILL WATCH OUR CHILDREN FOR THE
NEXT 5 DECADES FOR CJD ???
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Westland/Hallmark: 2008 Beef Recall A Case Study by The Food Industry
Center January 2010 THE FLIM-FLAM REPORT
DID YOUR CHILD CONSUME SOME OF THESE DEAD STOCK DOWNER COWS, THE MOST HIGH
RISK FOR MAD COW DISEASE ??? this recall was not for the welfare of the animals.
...tss you can check and see here ; (link now dead, does not work...tss)
try this link ;
Sunday, November 13, 2011
*** California BSE mad cow beef recall, QFC, CJD, and dead stock downer
livestock
Friday, January 30, 2015
*** Scrapie: a particularly persistent pathogen ***
Monday, October 10, 2011
EFSA Journal 2011 The European Response to BSE: A Success Story
snip...
EFSA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
recently delivered a scientific opinion on any possible epidemiological or
molecular association between TSEs in animals and humans (EFSA Panel on
Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) and ECDC, 2011). This opinion confirmed Classical
BSE prions as the only TSE agents demonstrated to be zoonotic so far
*** but the possibility that a small proportion of human cases so far
classified as "sporadic" CJD are of zoonotic origin could not be excluded.
*** Moreover, transmission experiments to non-human primates suggest that
some TSE agents in addition to Classical BSE prions in cattle (namely L-type
Atypical BSE, Classical BSE in sheep, transmissible mink encephalopathy (TME)
and chronic wasting disease (CWD) agents) might have zoonotic potential.
snip...
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Seven main threats for the future linked to prions
First threat
The TSE road map defining the evolution of European policy for protection
against prion diseases is based on a certain numbers of hypotheses some of which
may turn out to be erroneous. In particular, a form of BSE (called atypical
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy), recently identified by systematic testing in
aged cattle without clinical signs, may be the origin of classical BSE and thus
potentially constitute a reservoir, which may be impossible to eradicate if a
sporadic origin is confirmed.
*** Also, a link is suspected between atypical BSE and some apparently
sporadic cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
*** These atypical BSE cases constitute an unforeseen first threat that
could sharply modify the European approach to prion diseases.
Second threat
snip...
Subject: *** Becky Lockhart 46, Utah’s first female House speaker, dies
diagnosed with the extremely rare Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease aka mad cow type
disease
what is CJD ? just ask USDA inc., and the OIE, they are still feeding the
public and the media industry fed junk science that is 30 years old.
why doesn’t some of you try reading the facts, instead of rubber stamping
everything the USDA inc says.
sporadic CJD has now been linked to BSE aka mad cow disease, Scrapie, and
there is much concern now for CWD and risk factor for humans.
My sincere condolences to the family and friends of the House Speaker Becky
Lockhart. I am deeply saddened hear this.
with that said, with great respect, I must ask each and every one of you
Politicians that are so deeply saddened to hear of this needless death of the
Honorable House Speaker Becky Lockhart, really, cry me a friggen river. I am
seriously going to ask you all this...I have been diplomatic for about 17 years
and it has got no where. people are still dying. so, are you all stupid or
what??? how many more need to die ??? how much is global trade of beef and other
meat products that are not tested for the TSE prion disease, how much and how
many bodies is this market worth?
Saturday, January 17, 2015
*** Becky Lockhart 46, Utah’s first female House speaker, dies diagnosed
with the extremely rare Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Thursday, January 15, 2015
41-year-old Navy Commander with sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease CJD TSE
Prion: Case Report
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
NASDA BSE, CWD, SCRAPIE, TSE, PRION, Policy Statements updated with
amendments passed during the NASDA Annual Meeting Updated September 18, 2014
Sunday, December 28, 2014
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE CWD TSE PRION DISEASE AKA MAD DEER DISIEASE USDA
USAHA INC DECEMBER 28, 2014
*** HUMAN MAD COW DISEASE nvCJD TEXAS CASE NOT LINKED TO EUROPEAN TRAVEL
CDC ***
Sunday, November 23, 2014
*** Confirmed Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (variant CJD) Case in Texas
in June 2014 confirmed as USA case NOT European
the patient had resided in Kuwait, Russia and Lebanon. The completed
investigation did not support the patient's having had extended travel to
European countries, including the United Kingdom, or travel to Saudi Arabia. The
specific overseas country where this patient’s infection occurred is less clear
largely because the investigation did not definitely link him to a country where
other known vCJD cases likely had been infected.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
ALERT new variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease nvCJD or vCJD, sporadic CJD
strains, TSE prion aka Mad Cow Disease United States of America Update December
14, 2014 Report
Sunday, February 08, 2015
FDA SCIENCE BOARD TO THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION BOVINE HEPARIN BSE
CJD TSE PRION Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Transmission properties of atypical Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: a clue to
disease etiology?
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Docket No. APHIS-2014-0107 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Importation of
Animals and Animal Products Singeltary Submission
This is a Comment on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
Notice: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and
Approvals: Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Importation of Animals and Animal
Products
For related information, Open Docket Folder Docket folder icon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Show agency attachment(s) AttachmentsView All (0) Empty
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Comment View document:Docket No. APHIS-2014-0107 Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy; Importation of Animals and Animal Products Singeltary Submission
;
I believe that there is more risk to the world from Transmissible
Spongiform Encephalopathy TSE prion aka mad cow type disease now, coming from
the United States and all of North America, than there is risk coming to the USA
and North America, from other Countries. I am NOT saying I dont think there is
any risk for the BSE type TSE prion coming from other Countries, I am just
saying that in 2015, why is the APHIS/USDA/FSIS/FDA still ignoring these present
mad cow risk factors in North America like they are not here?
North America has more strains of TSE prion disease, in more species
(excluding zoo animals in the early BSE days, and excluding the Feline TSE and
or Canine TSE, because they dont look, and yes, there has been documented
evidence and scientific studies, and DEFRA Hound study, that shows the canine
spongiform encephalopathy is very possible, if it has not already happened, just
not documented), then any other Country in the world. Mink TME, Deer Elk cervid
CWD (multiple strains), cBSE cattle, atypical L-type BSE cattle, atypical H-type
BSE cattle, atyical HG type BSE cow (the only cow documented in the world to
date with this strain), typical sheep goat Scrapie (multiple strains), and the
atypical Nor-98 Scrapie, which has been linked to sporadic CJD, Nor-98 atypical
Scrapie has spread from coast to coast. sporadic CJD on the rise, with different
strains mounting, victims becoming younger, with the latest nvCJD human mad cow
case being documented in Texas again, this case, NOT LINKED TO EUROPEAN TRAVEL
CDC.
typical BSE can propagate as nvCJD and or sporadic CJD (Collinge et al),
and sporadic CJD has now been linked to atypical BSE, Scrapie and atypical
Scrapie, and scientist are very concerned with CWD TSE prion in the Cervid
populations. in my opinion, the BSE MRR policy, which overtook the BSE GBR risk
assessments for each country, and then made BSE confirmed countries legal to
trade mad cow disease, which was all brought forth AFTER that fateful day
December 23, 2003, when the USA lost its gold card i.e. BSE FREE status, thats
the day it all started. once the BSE MRR policy was shoved down every countries
throat by USDA inc and the OIE, then the legal trading of Scrapie was validated
to be a legal trading commodity, also shoved through by the USDA inc and the
OIE, the world then lost 30 years of attempted eradication of the BSE TSE prion
disease typical and atypical strains, and the BSE TSE Prion aka mad cow type
disease was thus made a legal trading commodity, like it or not. its all about
money now folks, trade, to hell with human health with a slow incubating
disease, that is 100% fatal once clinical, and forget the fact of exposure,
sub-clinical infection, and friendly fire there from i.e. iatrogenic TSE prion
disease, the pass it forward mode of the TSE PRION aka mad cow type disease. its
all going to be sporadic CJD or sporadic ffi, or sporadic gss, or now the
infamous VPSPr. ...problem solved $$$
the USDA/APHIS/FSIS/FDA triple mad cow BSE firewall, well, that was nothing
but ink on paper.
for this very reason I believe the BSE MRR policy is a total failure, and
that this policy should be immediately withdrawn, and set back in place the BSE
GBR Risk Assessments, with the BSE GBR risk assessments set up to monitor all
TSE PRION disease in all species of animals, and that the BSE GBR risk
assessments be made stronger than before.
lets start with the recent notice that beef from Ireland will be coming to
America.
Ireland confirmed around 1655 cases of mad cow disease. with the highest
year confirming about 333 cases in 2002, with numbers of BSE confirmed cases
dropping from that point on, to a documentation of 1 confirmed case in 2013, to
date. a drastic decrease in the feeding of cows to cows i.e. the ruminant mad
cow feed ban, and the enforcement of that ban, has drastically reduced the
number of BSE cases in Europe, minus a few BABs or BARBs. a far cry from the
USDA FDA triple BSE firewall, which was nothing more than ink on paper, where in
2007, in one week recall alone, some 10 MILLION POUNDS OF BANNED POTENTIAL MAD
COW FEED WENT OUT INTO COMMERCE IN THE USA. this is 10 years post feed ban. in
my honest opinion, due to the blatant cover up of BSE TSE prion aka mad cow
disease in the USA, we still have no clue as to the true number of cases of BSE
mad cow disease in the USA or North America as a whole. ...just saying.
Number of reported cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in
farmed cattle worldwide* (excluding the United Kingdom)
Country/Year
snip...please see attached pdf file, with references of breaches in the USA
triple BSE mad cow firewalls, and recent science on the TSE prion disease.
...TSS No documents available. AttachmentsView All (1) Empty Docket No.
APHIS-2014-0107 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Importation of Animals and
Animal Products Singeltary Submission View Attachment:
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Docket No. APHIS-2014-0107 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Importation of
Animals and Animal Products Singeltary Submission
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
*** Could we spot the next BSE?, asks BVA President ***
UK EXPORTS OF MBM TO WORLD
OTHERS
BEEF AND VEAL
LIVE CATTLE
FATS
EMBRYOS
GELATIN ETC
SEMEN
MEAT
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
COOL UPDATE September 2, 2014
TSS
Monday, February 23, 2015
20th BSE Case Raises New Concerns about Canada's Feeding Practices and
Voluntary Testing Program; Highlights Importance of COOL
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