Issues Forum: Beef Safety
Industry experts address beef safety issues, testing strategies and progress with intervention strategies.

Don Knowles, with ARS animal research unit, gave a BSE risk assessment as well as research updates and identification of different BSE strains during the Beef Industry Issues Forum regarding beef safety. Knowles stressed the importance of identifying disease transmission and careful observation of the disease.

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (Feb. 3, 2005) — A variety of animal and human health issues must be considered when referring to today’s quickly changing beef safety landscape, experts agreed at the Beef Industry Issues Forum Feb. 2 during the Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show in San Antonio.

Guy Loneragan, assistant professor of beef cattle health management at West Texas A&M University, said despite many successes in animal disease prevention and decreased product contamination, reducing human illnesses associated with such pathogens will still require some work — much of which involves pre-harvest interventions to combat harmful organisms.

Technologies like name-brand vaccines and hide-washing cabinets have helped dramatically reduce bacteria like E. coli O157:H7. In fact, Loneragan said the incidence of the bacteria has dropped dramatically — from a high of 2.7 reported cases per 100,000 people in 1996 to 1.1 cases per 100,000 people in 2003.

Several products have shown promise in producing similar results, he said; however, regulatory issues have slowed progress. Once innovative technologies are approved, Loneragan expects them to be implemented at packer and processing facilities, 35 of which process 95% of carcasses.

Don Knowles, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) animal research unit, gave a brief risk assessment regarding bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), as well as research updates and identification of different BSE strains.

“There are three things to know about infectious disease — how it’s transmitted, how it’s transmitted and how it’s transmitted,” he told the audience.

Fortunately, Knowles pointed out, BSE isn’t transmitted from cow to cow, but rather through feedstuffs. “If there’s a bright light in the story, this is it — that transmission isn’t contagious from animal to animal.

“There was some data years ago … that suggested cow-to-calf transmission, but that data hasn’t held up,” he said. “There’s no data indicating cow-to-calf transmission other than recycled protein.” Plus, as specified risk materials (SRMs) are continually banned from more feeding programs throughout the world, BSE becomes increasingly contained.

An important aspect of the research process involves close vigilance of different BSE strains to ensure that strains aren’t changing and, therefore, differing in transmission route. So far, he reported, research evidence hasn’t indicated any change, but researchers will continue to monitor BSE conditions.

Terry McElwain with the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University, explained the processes of USDA testing programs, beginning at the state level. McElwain helps test approximately 10% of samples in the nation’s total BSE testing surveillance program, which has tested more than 213,000 samples as of Jan. 30. The program’s goal, he reported, is to test 268,000 animals in the target population in a 12- to 18-month period.

— by Crystal Albers, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.
© Copyright 2005 Angus Productions Inc.

Editor’s Note: This article was written under contract or by staff of Angus Productions Inc. (API), which claims copyright to this article. It may not be published or distributed without the express permission of Angus Productions Inc. To request reprint permission and guidelines, contact Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, at (816) 383-5270 or shermel@angusjournal.com.