Farms // Current

Tainted ground beef may be linked to 2 deaths and 16 hospitalizations

Contaminated fresh ground beef caused a possible E. coli outbreak that killed two people and sent 16 others to hospitals, federal health officials said Monday.

Twenty-eight people may have become ill after eating beef produced by Fairbank Farms of Ashville, N.Y., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. All but three of the suspected infections are in the northeastern U.S. and 18 are in New England, said CDC spokeswoman Lola Scott Russell.

Fairbank Farms recalled almost 546,000 pounds of fresh ground beef that had been distributed in September to stores from North Carolina to Maine. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's recall notice, dated Saturday, said the possibly tainted meat had been sold in numerous ways, from meatloaf and meatball mix to hamburger patties.

In September 2007, the company recalled 884 pounds of ground beef products because they may have been contaminated with E. coli, the agency said. And in May 2008, it recalled 22,481 pounds of ground beef products that may have contained pieces of plastic.

The CDC did not specify the states where people were hospitalized. Kidney failure is found in the most severe cases of E. coli. In less serious cases, the potentially deadly bacterium can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration.

Some of the ground beef was sold at Trader Joe's, Price Chopper, Lancaster, Wild Harvest, Shaw's, BJ's, Ford Brothers and Giant stores in packages that carried the number "EST. 492" on the label. Those products were packaged Sept. 15-16 and may have been labeled with a sell-by date from Sept. 19 through Sept. 28, meaning they're no longer being sold as fresh product in supermarkets, Fairbank Farms said.

The rest of the ground beef, packaged in wholesale-sized containers under the Fairbank Farms name, was distributed to stores in Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. That meat was likely repackaged for sale and would likely have differing package and sell-by dates.

The USDA was urging customers with concerns to contact the stores where they bought the meat.

Ron Allen, Fairbank's CEO, urged consumers to check their freezers for the recalled ground beef.

Companies subject to such recalls are allowed to cook tainted meat to kill the bacteria and then use it in other products, a common practice in the food industry.

That won't happen in this case, the company said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/02/AR2009110201389.html?hpid=moreheadlinesContaminated fresh ground beef caused a possible E. coli outbreak that killed two... more

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Tell the Senate “NO!” on HR 2749…..not in any form!

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"You Don't Know What You're Talking About; You've Never Worked on a Farm"

In a recent comment thread here at Change.org, site member and animal advocate Gary Loewenthal responded to a version of the sentiment expressed in the title of this post, some varieties of which argue that animal advocates are all urbanites with not a clue about rural farming culture or that animal advocates really know nothing about farmed animals in general or that they have no concept of what really goes on in animal ag. With permission, I share Gary's thoughtful response to some aspects of this argument below.

But before I do, I will also say (as I have before, I know) that this kind of dismissal from proponents and defenders of animal ag also ignores that some of the animal rights movement's most compelling and passionate advocates are and have been former farmers (small- and large-scale alike), former hunters, former slaughterhouse workers; many others of us are originally from farming communities or families. The undercover investigators who see, time and time again, what "really" happens on farms would also disagree that they don't know what they're talking about. And then, finally, there are these excellent points from Gary (who is too humble about his knowledge of animal issues; I am consistently impressed by his knowledge and ability to articulate it thoughtfully):

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Many animal advocates, such as me, volunteer at farmed animal sanctuaries. At those wonderful places (which I recommend everyone visit), I submit that we are able to see animals in ways that farmers virtually never experience.

A) We never look at the animals in terms of what they can produce, or as disposable business assets. I think that way of looking at individuals blocks your ability to truly appreciate their uniqueness, their moods, and their nuances. We see the sanctuary animals as unique individuals, sometimes as friends, and to varying degrees we sense and share in their joy and sadness.

B) We see and get to know animals who, for all practical purposes, don't exist on farms: geriatric animals, blind calves, lame turkeys, hens with terminal ovarian cancer (caused in part by being engineered to lay so many eggs).

C) We experience aspects of the animals that are unlikely to be seen on farms. We witness the formation and endurance of long-term friendships between animals. We see the resilience and recovery of animals who were lucky enough to escape slaughter at the last moment.

To be an animal advocate practically requires that you gain some expertise in animal agriculture, cooking, nutrition, and other disciplines because you are asked about those things week after week, year after year.

Like many other animal advocates, I've done considerable research to maintain credibility when doing outreach and to give informed answers and opinions. I've talked to farmers and ex-farmers, ex-slaughterhouse workers, ex-USDA slaughterhouse inspectors, ex-animal lab inspectors, current USDA and animal lab employees, people who rescue hens from battery cages, circus employees, breeders, egg producers, vegan dieticians and chefs, and a host of other people involved in animal-related pursuits. I've also read quite a bit on the history of animal agriculture, the food industry, nutrition, animal cognition, and other topics. (I also live with a rabbit who is similar to those used by the fur, meat, and vivisection industries.)

I don't mention this to toot my own horn. In a room of animal activists, this sort of continuing education is very common. Many activists know far more than I do; they put me to shame. The public is deeply vested in eating meat, dairy, and eggs. The average person, IMHO, is afraid of dropping those items from his or her diet. People get very defensive about their meat-eating in particular. Very often, they're looking for ways to dismiss our views, or to deem us uncredible, as a superficial excuse to continue their habits. So we find out very quickly that we have to be prepared, knowledgeable, and credible in order to have any impact.In a recent comment thread here at Change.org, site member and animal advocate Gary... more

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Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 would put small farmers out of business

Passage of the FSEA into law would amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). The bill proposes a substantial increase in power and resources for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and would significantly diminish existing judicial restraints on actions taken by the agency. Although the bill includes some provisions that could improve the mainstream food system, many of these are vaguely worded and do not clearly define the scope of the agency’s power, creating the potential for inappropriate application and enforcement. Small farms and local artisanal producers are part of the solution to the food safety problem in this country; the bill would impose on them a one-size-fits-all regulatory scheme and would disproportionately impact their operations for the worse. A detailed analysis of some of the key provisions is below [the citations are to the relevant section and page number of the June 10 version of the bill].

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund is opposed to HR 2749 because it would adversely impact small farms and food producers, without providing significant reforms in the industrial food system. HR 2749 does not address the underlying causes of food safety problems, including industrial agriculture practices and the consolidation of our food supply.

I. REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Under current law, all “food facilities” are required to register with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) [21 USC § 350d]. The registration requirement is for one time only and no fee is charged. The FSEA would amend the current law to add significant requirements.

A. ANNUAL REGISTRATION FEE

The FSEA would require facilities to register annually [section 101(b)(1)–p. 3], rather than a one-time registration. Registrants would also be required to pay an annual fee of $500, to be adjusted for inflation [section 101, Part6, sec 743(b)(1)(A)–p. 10].

B. LIMITED EXCLUSION FROM REGISTRATION FOR FARMS

The term “facility” does not include “farms” for purposes of registration in either the current law or under the bill [21 USC § 350d(b)(1)]. But what exactly is a “farm”? The FDA’s current regulations take a very narrow view of what qualifies as a farm:

“…a facility in one general physical location devoted to the growing and harvesting of crops, the raising of animals (including seafood), or both. Washing, trimming of outer leaves of, and cooling produce are considered part of harvesting. The term “farm” includes:

“(i) Facilities that pack or hold food, provided that all food used in such activities is grown, raised, or consumed on that farm or another farm under the same ownership; and

“(ii) Facilities that manufacture/process food, provided that all food used in such activities is consumed on that farm or another farm under the same ownership.” [21 CFR § 1.227(3)] (emphasis added)

“Manufacturing/processing” is defined as “making food from one or more ingredients, or synthesizing, preparing, treating, modifying or manipulating food, including food crops or ingredients. Examples of manufacturing/processing activities are cutting, peeling, trimming, washing, waxing, eviscerating, rendering, cooking, baking, freezing, cooling, pasteurizing, homogenizing, mixing, formulating, bottling, milling, grinding, extracting juice, distilling, labeling, or packaging.” [21 CFR § 1.227(6)] In other words, any farm that makes jam, cans vegetables, or packages cut fruit would not be considered a “farm” under the regulation unless the food is consumed only on the farm!

much more at the link.Passage of the FSEA into law would amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act... more