MAD COW NEWS

Country-of-origin labels can wait, Congress says Two years after enacting a meat labeling law, Congress has decided a requirement to put country-of-origin labels on beef can wait until fall 2006, despite arguments the labels would reassure American consumers during a time of mad cow disease. The U.S. meat industry and food retailers lobbied to postpone the labeling law, which they say is too costly and would be a record-keeping headache. Consumer and farm groups generally support the labels as a way to distinguish U.S. products on the grocery shelf. The U.S. Senate approved the delay as part of a $375 billion government spending bill on Thursday, which now goes to President Bush for his signature....Ranchers have beef with bill Angry ranchers called on Congress to immediately require country-of-origin labeling for beef, not two years from now as laid out in a spending bill passed today. They contend immediate labeling will boost consumer confidence in an industry shaken by fears over mad cow disease and will help identify infected animals in the future. "We've got to differentiate our product as a marketing issue and for health issues," said Rick Fox, a Hermosa, S.D., rancher who is in Denver for the annual convention of the R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America....Mad cow concern has grocery chains rethinking privacy During the recent mad-cow beef recall, one supermarket chain used its preferred customer discount cards to identify and warn shoppers who had bought the suspect meat. In fact, many supermarket chains could do the same thing — but they don't, largely for fear of being accused of violating customers' privacy. "One of our primary objectives is to protect our customers' privacy, so we don't want to jeopardize that," Albertsons spokeswoman Karianne Cole in Boise, Idaho. Still, she said, the mad-cow recall will probably prompt the chain to take another look at the idea....Center for Global Food Issues Launches Mad Cow Web Site The Center for Global Food Issues (CGFI) today announced the launch of a "Mad Cow Facts" Web site, http://www.mad-cow-facts.com/. Recent research reveals that facts and credible information about Mad Cow Disease, also known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), are not always easy to find online. Scores of organic food companies, advocacy organizations, and special interest groups are attempting to manipulate Internet search engines and news portals with misleading Web sites, press releases, sponsored links and banner advertising. "We want consumers to have the facts, not the fears that many special interest groups and those in the organic and natural products industry are advancing," said Alex Avery, Director of Research at CGFI. "Since the discovery of one case of mad cow in Washington State we've seen dozens of press releases, new Web sites and a wide range of online advertising tactics seeking to exploit public and media perceptions of this issue."....CDC investigating CJD cluster in N.J. Federal health officials are investigating a cluster of cases of a rare brain disorder in the southern area of New Jersey, UPI has learned. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday requested more information about cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease that have been tied to the southern area of the state by a private citizen. Janet Skarbek, of Cinnamonson, N.J., has identified 10 potential cases of the disease over the last four years. She thinks some of the cases could be due to the consumption of meat infected with mad cow disease, which can cause variant CJD in humans. Public health officials have not linked any of the cases to tainted meat and say they all appear to consist mainly of a spontaneous form of the disease called sporadic CJD....Column: Crying Wolf Over Mad Cow Disease Organic and natural foods marketers reached a new low after the detection of BSE in a single cow imported into the United States. In the immediate wake of the discovery, scores of organic food companies, advocacy organizations, and trade groups attempted to exploit the heightened fears of American consumers by falsely promoting their higher-priced products as being safer and healthier. Ronnie Cummins, head of the Organic Consumers Association actually admitted that he is hoping for a "crisis of confidence" in the U.S. food supply so that consumers will turn to higher priced organic fare. He and his friends certainly did their part to foment such a crisis. In the few days right after the USDA announced its discovery, nearly 50 press releases were issued attempting to influence media coverage. Groups such as PETA, the Chef's Collaborative and the OCA were quoted repeatedly in the news media. But this being a food safety issue, I'd suggest listening to actual food safety experts rather than the president of the company selling Gardenburgers, who also joined the chorus of opportunists....Japan Restaurants Push to Resume U.S. Beef Imports When U.S. health and agricultural officials try to push Tokyo this week to resume buying American beef, they are likely to face tough resistance from the Japanese government. But they will also find vocal support from Japan's $117 billion restaurant industry. The import freeze is hurting Japanese restaurants, many of which rely on U.S. beef because it can cost about half the price of Japanese beef. Now supplies in the restaurants' freezers are dwindling. The shortage was exacerbated this week, when the Japanese government ordered wholesalers to refrain from selling certain types of U.S. beef imported before the import ban. The order includes T-bone steaks, which are cut from near the vertebrae, as well as other beef cuts using the bones or brains of the animal. Brain and spinal tissue from an infected cow is thought to contain the highest risk of passing on the disease. In an unusual move for Japan -- where public support is traditionally scant for U.S. demands to open its markets -- Japanese restaurant chains are now proclaiming that U.S. beef is safe, and are demanding that the Japanese government allow imports. Last week, the Japan Food Service Association, a trade group, sent a letter via the U.S. embassy to President Bush, asking him to quickly propose new measures that are persuasive enough to sway the Japanese government....Not a 'real uphill battle' to get U.S. cattle ban lifted, Cdn ambassador says Despite opposition by some U.S. beef producers to resuming the live cattle trade, Canada isn't "fighting a real uphill battle" to get the current ban dropped, says Ottawa's top diplomat here. In a briefing Thursday, Ambassador Michael Kergin also said details on two other key cross-border issues, respect for Canada's passport and bidding on big Iraqi reconstruction contracts, have been settled. The first meeting between Prime Minister Paul Martin and President George W. Bush earlier this month in Monterrey, Mexico, pushed all three matters ahead, said Kergin. While there are "certain interests that want to keep the price of cattle high," especially in an election year, U.S. officials understand that the ban can only hurt them with American trading partners, said Kergin. "The Asians know that this market's integrated. As long as we have divisions among ourselves, that could slow or delay (resumption of their trade with the U.S.)" However, the live cattle ban won't be dropped until the U.S. concludes its investigation and it could take some time to track all the 80 other animals from the same Alberta herd to test them for mad cow. "We (now) have a much better tracking system," said Kergin, who criticized efforts by some lobbyists and congressmen to slap "exclusionary" made-in-the-U.S. labels on beef. "It is discriminatory, especially in cases of livestock," he said....U.S. delegation in Japan says 100% testing won't prevent mad cow disease Testing every American head of cattle for mad cow disease - as suggested by Japan - would not significantly improve the safety of the beef supply, the head of a U.S. delegation visiting Tokyo for talks with Japanese officials said Thursday. J. B. Penn, U.S. undersecretary for farm and agricultural services, said blanket testing as advocated by Tokyo would needlessly divert resources away from other more effective measures to check the spread of the bovine illness....Japanese demand Aussie beef Demand for Australian beef is skyrocketing in Japan because of the discovery of mad cow disease in the United States. Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) said prices for Australian two varieties of beef had climbed 48 per cent and 50 per cent since Japan banned American beef at the end of last month. Japan is now sourcing most of its beef from Australia, which before the American ban was its second most important market, and New Zealand. The MLA said prices for Australian beef had now climbed to their highest level since 1991.... Idaho Cow Has Connection to Mad Cow Herd A herd mate to the Holstein that contracted mad cow disease in Washington has been traced to a dairy farm in Burley. The southern Idaho cow does not 'have' mad cow disease. But while tracing the 'cattle of interest' connected to the Washington herd, the Department of Agriculture found a herd mate in southern Idaho. Studies show dairy products do not contain or transmit Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis, also known as mad cow disease. So the USDA says Idaho's dairy products are safe....