Tag: beef
-
FSIS Proposes Labeling Mechanically Tenderized Beef Products
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a proposal that would require beef products undergoing a mechanical tenderization process be labeled as such and include new cooking instructions to ensure proper handling. According to an agency spokesperson, “Ensuring that consumers have effective tools and information is important in helping…
-
EC Issues Results of Contaminated Beef Investigation
The European Commission (EC) has released the results of its investigation into beef products contaminated with horsemeat, reporting that 5 percent of tested products were contaminated with horse DNA and 0.5 percent of tested horse carcasses were contaminated with the pain reliever phenylbutazone (bute). The investigation apparently involved 7,259 tests carried out by 27 member…
-
DOJ Charges Kentucky Cattle Company for Falsifying Records
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly indicted a London, Kentucky-based cattle company and its treasurer for falsifying records related to a federal investigation and creating false documents. The charges apparently arise out of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation to determine whether the company was violating a 2006 court-ordered injunction requiring it…
-
FSIS Orders Additional “Species Testing” on EU Meat Imports
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently issued a notice directing import inspectors to increase “species sampling and testing” on products from countries affected by the European Union’s ongoing investigation into beef contaminated with horsemeat. According to the new order, FSIS has scheduled “increased species sampling for product from Iceland, Ireland,…
-
Federal Audit Faults FSIS for Failure to Test Mechanically Tenderized Beef for E. Coli
A U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General audit report titled “FSIS E. coli Testing of Boxed Beef” concludes that the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) must reevaluate its E. coli testing methodology and “take additional steps to ensure that beef to be ground throughout the production process—from Federally inspected slaughter establishments to…
-
Eighth Circuit Affirms Judgment in Supply Chain Dispute over Recalled Westland Beef
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a $1.6 million award of damages and attorney’s fees in a contract dispute between General Mills and the company that sold it beef obtained from the Westland Meat Co. and recalled in 2008 after “[v]ideo footage from the Humane Society allegedly showed Westland employees improperly handling cattle…
-
R-CALF Raises Concerns over Mad Cow Disease in Brazil
The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF USA) sent a December 10, 2012, letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting the immediate suspension of imports of ruminants and ruminant products from Brazil after the country notified the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) about a confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) detected in…
-
Former Beef Processing Worker Sues Jamie Oliver and ABC Anchor
One of the 750 beef processing plant employees who lost his job in the wake of recent negative publicity involving “lean finely textured beef,” otherwise referred to in the media as “pink slime,” has reportedly filed a lawsuit in a Nebraska state court naming as defendants celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, ABC’s Diane Sawyer, a blogger,…