Article on a speech......at the 2011 Australian Meat Industry Council's Conference (Aug. 24-25 /11).
I personally found the article 30% noise, 40% rationalizing inaction, 25% tactical "this might catch it before..." and 5% pre-emptive strategy (per below).
One message that came out is if the people speak out enough (and enough die...my insertion) ...the USDA will listen and eventually be forced to act (politics). Here at home Canadian citizens aren't particularly fond or good at the former and speaking to Government officials/ agencies...but I digress. Anyways, worth the read...
Big changes ahead in food safety arena
By Jon Condon, 26 Aug 2011
Former under-secretary for the office of food safety in the USDA, Dr Richard Raymond, provided insights into likely food safety trends in North America and what Australia might have to do to maintain market access during the 2011 Australian Meat Industry Council’s annual gathering on the Gold Coast.
excerpt at end of article:
“How to do this with least disruption to industry time and effort is a challenge.”
Discussions could ultimately focus on low-dose radiation, and vaccination against e.coli in the feedlot. A ‘farm-to-fork’ strategy towards e.coli could also ultimately emerge.
“There are things that can be done, pre-harvest. We could have a national vaccination program for e.coli. We vaccinate children against multiple diseases - why not vaccinate cattle to prevent shedding e.coli? Pro-biotic use on farm could also be helpful.”
I then googled Dr. Richard Raymond and this is interesting...
Jolley: Five minutes with Dr. Richard Raymond and food safety
Chuck Jolley | Updated: May 27, 2011
excerpts within article:
A recent blog really whipped the rabble into a frenzy. “Just cook it,” he said, was a crock. It’s not a viable solution to killing off E. coli, salmonella or any of those other nasty bugs. The meat industry, indeed the entire food industry, simply must do better.
3. E. coli vaccines. Doing this to every cow born in the US would add one penny to the cost of a pound of ground beef and reduce the shedding of E. coli by 85%. More E. coli outbreaks come from produce than ground beef, but nearly every outbreak eventually can be traced back to a cow. This is an environmental issue, and the EPA already spends billion cleaning up toxic sites. Feed lots are toxic sites that can be mitigated. The government should pay for a mandatory vaccination program. $300 million would cover it. That is only one dollar per US citizen.
Link to articles:
https://www.beefcentral.com/p/news/article/531
https://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/122723224.html