Barbara Feder Ostrov of the Mercury News reported on Organic Pastures – Again:
State agriculture officials have temporarily banned the sale of raw cream from the Organic Pastures dairy in Fresno, citing bacteria levels of up to 150 times the legal limit. They also have warned a Watsonville dairy, Claravale Farm, that it faces a
Jamie Hartford from QSR Magazine and I spoke over the last few days as I was mediating the Wendy’s 2006 E. coli O21:H19 outbreak in Salt Lake City, Utah. Although Jamie and I primarily talked about how restaurants can protect themselves from contaminated product received from suppliers, some of what we talked about is why
After spending a few days at the Argibusiness Executive Conference, I am off to Salt Lake City to a Court ordered mediation of cases stemming from the E. coli O121:H19 outbreak linked to an Ogden Wendy’s. I represent five of the victims. Two cases were settled yesterday, so we will be mediating three –
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In what appears to be three separate recalls due to Listeria, several firms are recalling chicken products sent to several states.
Gourmet Boutique LLC of Jamaica, N.Y., recalled 6,970 pounds of 12 meat and poultry products, which each bear the production code GBD 08058 on the package. These products, which are mostly chicken but
The Quaker Oats Co. announced the products in the recall are Aunt Jemima Pancake & Waffle Mix: Original, Original Complete and Buttermilk Complete, which may have potential salmonella contamination. No other Aunt Jemima, frozen Aunt Jemima or Quaker products are affected. The products, sold in 2 pound and 5 pound boxes with Best Before dates
This is the land of capitalism. So, we all know that when it comes to using Downers, or non-ambulatory cows, there has to be that raw underbelly of profit or, perhaps more accurately, the illusion of profits. Let’s examine if the use of downers makes good economic sense.
First some background: In the U.S., we both import and export slaughtered beef and dairy cattle. According to USA Today, some 35 million U.S. cattle are slaughtered each year in the U.S. According to a recent report by JAVMA, the exact number of nonambulatory cattle on US farms or feedlots or sent to slaughter facilities is difficult to ascertain. However, estimates may approach 500,000 animals per year according to a recent JAVMA report.
According to that same report, the incidence of nonambulatory cattle is greater among dairy than among beef breeds. There are limited data on the food safety of beef produced from nonambulatory cattle sent to slaughter facilities. However, the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella was greater in nonambulatory than in ambulatory dairy cattle. The causes for nonambulatory cattle range from loss of calcium due to milk production, calving injuries, broken legs or neurological conditions.
Certainly, some of these downer animals could be safe additions to the food supply. Would it make sense to have more rigorous inspection as animals arrive to slaughter by qualified inspectors to exclude animals that pose a risk? Or, is it simply better to exclude them all?Continue Reading The Raw Economics Driving the Use of Downers
I leave for Monterey in the morning to attend Tuesday’s General Session – Food Safety. The instructor is Roberta Cook who wrote a brilliant paper for the session. I will be on the Panel Discussion with:
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I am thinking about the reasons, ethically, medically and financially why we allow "downer" cattle into our food supply – at any level. Over the next few days I will give you my thoughts. Please feel free to weigh in.
To put things in context, The USDA suggested, and Westland/Hallmark issued, the largest beef recall
The first paragraph of the North County Times article says it all:
“A Murrieta couple says it was raw milk tainted with a strain of E. coli that nearly killed their son. The owner of Organic Pastures Dairy in Fresno, where the raw milk came from, and the Sprouts store in Temecula, where the milk
Taking a "break" from the testimony, food safety conferences and upcoming legal work in California and Utah, I took a great hike today to a "falls" outside of Phoenix in the desert. Well, you should all be thankful that I am a far better lawyer that walker. Thankfully, there was a great Urgent Care Center
