Misuse of Antibiotics in Agriculture.

[Roy Costa]

Dear list:
 
This may be an issue that we are fairly in agreement on.
 
 

REPOSTED FROM BLOG INQUIRY

 

I am reaching out to you in hopes that you’ll help highlight the growing antibiotic resistance public health crisis with readers of Food Safety & Environmental Health Blog.  The misuse of antibiotics in agriculture has led to the development and spread of resistant bacteria that cause difficult-to-treat, costly, and potentially fatal infections. Yet, most Americans are not aware of the severity of this issue

 

Everyone is at risk from antibiotic-resistant infections, with children, seniors, and people with weakened immune systems particularly vulnerable. This public health crisis has largely stemmed from the food we eat, as a result of the overuse of antibiotics in livestock and poultry – not to treat disease, but instead to promote growth and compensate for crowded, stressful, unsanitary conditions.

 

This month, the Keep Antibiotics Working coalition, along with Pew and the American Academy of Pediatrics, launched a “We the People” petition to demonstrate to the White House that there is widespread concern across the country about the overuse of antibiotics in industrial farming and that action must be taken to end the injudicious use of live-saving drugs.  After the petition gets 25,000 signatures by March 16^th, the White House will have to review the petition and issue a response.

 

I wanted to make sure you saw the petition, which can be found here or at: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/protect-our-families%E2%80%99-health-ending-overuse-antibiotics-food-producing-animals/vRTdq7gk. I have also included the full language below this e-mail.

 

If you are able to post the link to this petition in any form, it would really help spread awareness and ensure that our government addresses this vital issue. Please let me know if you have any questions and if you are able to help (including by signing the petition yourself

 

Roy E Costa R.S., M.S.(M.B.A.)
Public Health Sanitarian and Consultant
Environ Health Associates, Inc.
1.877.734.5187
skype: environ.health.associates
rco...@cfl.rr.com
www.haccptraining.org
www.safefoods.tv
www.HACCPprinciples.com
www.safefoodsblog.com
 

[Carl Custer]

581 to go:
Antibiotic resistance has been heating up in the past year.

Recent news bits:
<http://www.microbemagazine.org/>
<http://www.microbemagazine.org/index.php/02-2012-current-topics/4382-minitopics>
<http://mbio.asm.org/content/3/1/e00305-11>

This meeting is scheduled for September:
< www.alternativestoantibiotics.org>

The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (HR 965)
<http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-965>

Saw this in JFP.
<http://www.animalagriculture.org/Solutions/Proceedings/Symposia/2011%20Antibiotics/White%20Paper.pdf>

& Don Schaffner published a paper last Fall
Antibiotic Resistance: How Much Do We Know and Where Do We Go from Here?
Hua H. Wang and Donald W. Schaffner Appl. Environ. Microbiol. October
2011 77: 7093-7095

Even the Wall Street Journal:
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730804576321642268279446.html?mod=rss_US_News>

And a Hill briefing on AMR on March 8.
Caroline Smith DeWaal, J.D. (Center for Science in the Public Interest)
• Dr. Jim R. Johnson (University of Minnesota)
• Dr. Robert S. Lawrence (Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future)
• Dr. Stuart Levy (Tufts University, Alliance for the Prudent Use of
Antibiotics)
• Dr. Lance Price (Director of TGen North’s Center for Microbiomics
and Human Health)
• Dr. Tara Smith (University of Iowa

[Simonne,Amarat]

I would appreciate if some meat scientist(s)/meat microbiologist(s) on this list could provide some fact and un-bias research/information on this ? Please see the link below.  

A couple of people are being quoted on this and I would like to get some historic background.  Thank you very much for your help. Not sure when Ammonia is used in ground beef or is it as a mean of carcass decontamination option or just from contamination from cooling/freezing equipments. 

 

Best regards,

Amy Simonne

 

 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/pink-slime-for-school-lun_n_1322325.html

 

 

 

 

Frozen Beef Contamination after Exposure to Low Levels of Ammonia Gas

Article first published online: 11 JAN 2010

DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2009.01488.x

 

[Carl Custer]

On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 10:03 PM, Simonne,Amarat <as...@ufl.edu> wrote:
> I would appreciate if some meat scientist(s)/meat microbiologist(s) on this
> list could provide some fact and un-bias research/information on this ?
> Please see the link below.
> A couple of people are being quoted on this and I would like to get some
> historic background.  Thank you very much for your help. Not sure when
> Ammonia is used in ground beef or is it as a mean of carcass decontamination
> option or just from contamination from cooling/freezing equipments.

> Frozen Beef Contamination after Exposure to Low Levels of Ammonia Gas
>
> Article first published online: 11 JAN 2010
> DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2009.01488.x

<snip>

[Carl]: I'll start. You referred to the NY Times article
Here's more:
<http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/03/70-percent-of-ground-beef-at-supermarkets-contains-pink-slime/>
Mas:
<http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/03/05/030512-news-pink-slime-1-3/>
Sigh, 30 minutes of interview reduced to 10 seconds of "Fame"

In 1990, I and others reviewed the process. As the microbiologist, I
found the submitted data indicated that the product treated with
ammonia should be microbiologically safe. However, the product was
similar to PDBFT but only treated to reduce the bacterial load. As
such, the product would be nutritionally inferior to meat according to
the Food Technologist reviewing the data. We sent our review up the
chain. Some time later got the news verbally that the Undersecretary
said "It's pink, therefore its' meat".
To better understand the consequenses of that statement look at 9 CFR
319.15, paragraphs (a)(b)&(c).
<http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2010-title9-vol2/xml/CFR-2010-title9-vol2-sec319-15.xml>
Residual ammonia, once touted as making the product safer should have
been on the label.
So, that was that. As my supervisor once advised, "Wave the flag, but
if the train keeps coming, get off the track."
Oh in reference to the pink, some wag coin called it Soylent Pink.

In 2002 GZ was sent off to review the product and called it pink
slime. When I was interviewed for the NYTimes article, the editors
thought Soylent Pink was too obscure for
their readers; so pink slime it is. (Humph kids :^)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html?_r=1>
<http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/01/the-ammonia-beef-saga-has/>

FYI an Iowa State A.S. Leaflet R1361
<http://www.exnet.iastate.edu/Pages/ansci/beefreports/asl-1361.pdf>
summarizes:
"Lean, finely textured beef (LFTB) is a lean product derived from
beef-fat trimmings. Characterization of LFTB showed that, while it is
high in total protein, the LFTB contains more serum and connective
tissue proteins and less myofibrillar proteins than muscle meat.
Because of the protein differences, LFTB has less functionality in
processed meats, resulting in lower yields and softer texture.
Appropriate use of sodium chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate,
k-carrageenan, or isolated soy protein achieved desired stability and
yields in frankfurters with FTLB. The softer texture may be used to
advantage in high-protein, low-fat meat products where excessive
toughness or firmness is often a problem."

[Carl Custer]

[Carl]: Someone sent me this:
Jamie Oliver:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wshlnRWnf30>
I had heard of it but not seen it.