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CNN Live At Daybreak

Mad Cow: Tracking the Meat

Aired December 29, 2003 - 05:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now for more on the mad cow disease story. The federal government has recalled at least 10,000 pounds of beef, and several Western supermarket chains have pulled the products off the shelf. It's all in an effort to assure the public there is no danger from mad cow in the food supply.
In the meantime, entire herds of cattle remain quarantined, as officials continue to track which cows may have come into contact with the infected animal.

CNN's Elaine Quijano has more on the government's efforts to track the meat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): USDA officials believe some of the meat from a cow infected with mad cow disease wound up in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana and the U.S. territory of Guam, in addition to the four states originally on the recall list: Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada.

Officials continue to insist the risk to consumers is low, because the parts known to carry the disease, including the brain and spinal chord, were removed before processing.

DR. KENNETH PETERSON, USDA VETERINARIAN: The recalled beefs presents an essentially zero risk to American consumers.

QUIJANO (on camera): So far, USDA officials have not definitively pinpointed (AUDIO GAP) to Albert, Canada, where it was imported to the U.S. along with a herd of 73 others, more than two years ago. (voice-over): But Canadian officials say it's still too early to talk about any definite links.

DR. BRIAN EVANS, CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY: Based on our understanding of the information compiled to date, it would be premature to draw such conclusions at this time.

QUIJANO: The USDA says ear tags were used to track the cow, and officials are in the process of trying to conduct DNA tests to confirm its origins.

The mad cow scare has prompted at least one lawmaker to call for better tracking of the nation's beef supply. In a statement, Senator Chuck Schumer said U.S. officials were caught unprepared. Said Schumer, "How much more of a wake-up call could we possibly need? We need a comprehensive way to track tainted meat, and to pull it off the shelf."

USDA officials say they are looking at other tracking methods, including using electronic microchips on animals. But they say with hundreds of millions of animals in the nation's food supply, any change to the current system would be a huge undertaking.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired December 29, 2003 - 05:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now for more on the mad cow disease story. The federal government has recalled at least 10,000 pounds of beef, and several Western supermarket chains have pulled the products off the shelf. It's all in an effort to assure the public there is no danger from mad cow in the food supply.
In the meantime, entire herds of cattle remain quarantined, as officials continue to track which cows may have come into contact with the infected animal.

CNN's Elaine Quijano has more on the government's efforts to track the meat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): USDA officials believe some of the meat from a cow infected with mad cow disease wound up in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana and the U.S. territory of Guam, in addition to the four states originally on the recall list: Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada.

Officials continue to insist the risk to consumers is low, because the parts known to carry the disease, including the brain and spinal chord, were removed before processing.

DR. KENNETH PETERSON, USDA VETERINARIAN: The recalled beefs presents an essentially zero risk to American consumers.

QUIJANO (on camera): So far, USDA officials have not definitively pinpointed (AUDIO GAP) to Albert, Canada, where it was imported to the U.S. along with a herd of 73 others, more than two years ago. (voice-over): But Canadian officials say it's still too early to talk about any definite links.

DR. BRIAN EVANS, CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY: Based on our understanding of the information compiled to date, it would be premature to draw such conclusions at this time.

QUIJANO: The USDA says ear tags were used to track the cow, and officials are in the process of trying to conduct DNA tests to confirm its origins.

The mad cow scare has prompted at least one lawmaker to call for better tracking of the nation's beef supply. In a statement, Senator Chuck Schumer said U.S. officials were caught unprepared. Said Schumer, "How much more of a wake-up call could we possibly need? We need a comprehensive way to track tainted meat, and to pull it off the shelf."

USDA officials say they are looking at other tracking methods, including using electronic microchips on animals. But they say with hundreds of millions of animals in the nation's food supply, any change to the current system would be a huge undertaking.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com