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American Morning

Mad Cow Spreads

Aired December 29, 2003 - 07:04   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Four states have been added to the government recall of five tons of beef prompted by mad cow disease. The meat was processed at a plant in the state of Washington, where a single Holstein cow found to have that deadly infection. Eight states and the U.S. territory of Guam are now part of the recall.
Elaine Quijano reports now this morning for us.

(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 cord, were removed before processing.

DR. KENNETH PETERSON, AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT VETERINARIAN: The recalled beef presents an essentially zero risk to American consumers.

QUIJANO (on camera): So far, USDA officials have not definitively pinpointed where the infected cow came from, but their preliminary information tracks it to Alberta, 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 origin.

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 shelves." 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)

HEMMER: So, then the question persists: How safe is the beef we're eating?

Chief veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Dr. Ron DeHaven is our guest here on AMERICAN MORNING.

Doctor, good morning to you.

DR. RON DEHAVEN, CHIEF VETERINARIAN, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE: Good morning, Bill. Thank you for having me.

HEMMER: It's my pleasure.

We consistently hear that there is no risk to consumers. If that's the case, why is there so much concern and attention given to this story?

DEHAVEN: Well, the department actions thus far have been taken out of an abundance of caution. We have, in fact, initiated a recall of that beef. But as the science would suggest and as international standards based on that science suggest, meat is one of the commodities that can safely be traded, even from a country with a moderate to high prevalence of the disease. Based on the program that we've had in place in the United States for over 10 years, we know at worst the prevalence of the disease in this country is very minimal.

HEMMER: So, you're saying we're all just being a bit cautious then. Is that right?

DEHAVEN: We are operating out of an abundance of caution, indeed.

HEMMER: There seems to be this cross-border war between the U.S. and Canada as the origination point. Can the U.S. definitively say now that this cow originated in Alberta, Canada?

DEHAVEN: Well, let me address the cross-border war, as you put it. I maintain a very good relationship with my counterpart, Dr. Brian Evans, the chief veterinarian officer from Canada, and that level of cooperation extends down to our respective field forces. So, while there may be some banter in the media, the investigation on both sides of the border continues and does so very cooperatively.

HEMMER: Part of that investigation involves DNA testing. When will that be completed?

DEHAVEN: We have collected samples, and probably later today those samples will be sent to laboratories for that DNA testing. And it's through that type of testing that we hope to be able to definitively determine the source of this animal.

In the meantime, we have records. We have an identification tag on the animal. And so, this is our primary line of inquiry back to that herd in Alberta, Canada.

HEMMER: But a pretty basic question then, Doctor. Why is it so important to nail down the source?

DEHAVEN: Well, we know that this disease has an incubation period of typically three to six years. So, the birth herd is the likely location where the animal became infected. We'll want to know what feed that animal might have been fed, and, even more importantly, what other animals were on the farm at that time that might have consumed the same feed and where are they now.

HEMMER: And, Doctor, finally, can you say if we're at the beginning of this, if we’re at the end of it, or if we're somewhere in the middle right now?

DEHAVEN: Well, we're in the sixth day of our investigation. It could be very early, as we attempt to trace all of the animals that might have had a similar exposure to this particular animal.

In the meantime, I think, again, it's important that we emphasize that we are operating out of an abundance of caution. The recall of the meat has been done not because we think that it represents a risk to the U.S. consumer, but, again, out of an abundance of caution, knowing that the science suggests that that meat is safe.

HEMMER: Thank you, Doctor. Ron DeHaven there in Washington, D.C.

DEHAVEN: Thank you, Bill.

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 - 07:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Four states have been added to the government recall of five tons of beef prompted by mad cow disease. The meat was processed at a plant in the state of Washington, where a single Holstein cow found to have that deadly infection. Eight states and the U.S. territory of Guam are now part of the recall.
Elaine Quijano reports now this morning for us.

(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 cord, were removed before processing.

DR. KENNETH PETERSON, AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT VETERINARIAN: The recalled beef presents an essentially zero risk to American consumers.

QUIJANO (on camera): So far, USDA officials have not definitively pinpointed where the infected cow came from, but their preliminary information tracks it to Alberta, 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 origin.

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 shelves." 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)

HEMMER: So, then the question persists: How safe is the beef we're eating?

Chief veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Dr. Ron DeHaven is our guest here on AMERICAN MORNING.

Doctor, good morning to you.

DR. RON DEHAVEN, CHIEF VETERINARIAN, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE: Good morning, Bill. Thank you for having me.

HEMMER: It's my pleasure.

We consistently hear that there is no risk to consumers. If that's the case, why is there so much concern and attention given to this story?

DEHAVEN: Well, the department actions thus far have been taken out of an abundance of caution. We have, in fact, initiated a recall of that beef. But as the science would suggest and as international standards based on that science suggest, meat is one of the commodities that can safely be traded, even from a country with a moderate to high prevalence of the disease. Based on the program that we've had in place in the United States for over 10 years, we know at worst the prevalence of the disease in this country is very minimal.

HEMMER: So, you're saying we're all just being a bit cautious then. Is that right?

DEHAVEN: We are operating out of an abundance of caution, indeed.

HEMMER: There seems to be this cross-border war between the U.S. and Canada as the origination point. Can the U.S. definitively say now that this cow originated in Alberta, Canada?

DEHAVEN: Well, let me address the cross-border war, as you put it. I maintain a very good relationship with my counterpart, Dr. Brian Evans, the chief veterinarian officer from Canada, and that level of cooperation extends down to our respective field forces. So, while there may be some banter in the media, the investigation on both sides of the border continues and does so very cooperatively.

HEMMER: Part of that investigation involves DNA testing. When will that be completed?

DEHAVEN: We have collected samples, and probably later today those samples will be sent to laboratories for that DNA testing. And it's through that type of testing that we hope to be able to definitively determine the source of this animal.

In the meantime, we have records. We have an identification tag on the animal. And so, this is our primary line of inquiry back to that herd in Alberta, Canada.

HEMMER: But a pretty basic question then, Doctor. Why is it so important to nail down the source?

DEHAVEN: Well, we know that this disease has an incubation period of typically three to six years. So, the birth herd is the likely location where the animal became infected. We'll want to know what feed that animal might have been fed, and, even more importantly, what other animals were on the farm at that time that might have consumed the same feed and where are they now.

HEMMER: And, Doctor, finally, can you say if we're at the beginning of this, if we’re at the end of it, or if we're somewhere in the middle right now?

DEHAVEN: Well, we're in the sixth day of our investigation. It could be very early, as we attempt to trace all of the animals that might have had a similar exposure to this particular animal.

In the meantime, I think, again, it's important that we emphasize that we are operating out of an abundance of caution. The recall of the meat has been done not because we think that it represents a risk to the U.S. consumer, but, again, out of an abundance of caution, knowing that the science suggests that that meat is safe.

HEMMER: Thank you, Doctor. Ron DeHaven there in Washington, D.C.

DEHAVEN: Thank you, Bill.

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