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CNN Sunday Morning
Interview With Peter Jinman
Aired December 28, 2003 - 07:12 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.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: Officials believe they have tracked the origins of the Washington state cow that is the first in the U.S. to be infected with mad cow disease. But the disease may have originated elsewhere.
CNN's Holly Firfer reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The USDA believes the infected cow came from Alberta, Canada, one of the 74 head dairy herd.
RON DEHAVEN, DR., USDA CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER: The affected animal was very likely to have entered the United States as part of a group of 74 dairy cattle that were imported from the Canadian province of Alberta in August of 2001.
FIRFER: Although the USDA says it does not believe any of those remaining 73 cattle are infected with mad cow, as a precaution, they're tracking them down.
U.S. and Canadian health officials were able to identify the infected cow because an ear tag, removed from the animal at the time of slaughter, matched records in Canada.
A DNA test is being done to make a positive identification, because of discrepancies in the cow's age. According to U.S. records, the infected cow was 4.5 years old. Canadian records show the cow was 6.5 and had already birth two calves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is still much investigative work to be done, but whatever the outcome, whether the animal is of Canadian or of U.S. origin, we will work closely together with the U.S. and our international colleagues to deal with what is clearly a North American and global issue.
FIRFER: The DNA test results should be back within the week. According to the USDA, the age of the cow may tell U.S. officials where the Holstein might have been infected.
In 1997, the USDA banned all animal products, such as the brain and spinal cord from being used in animal feed, to prevent the spread of BSE. If this cow was older than U.S. officials believe, she might have been infected while on a farm in Canada, and not by feed in the United States. Investigators do say, however, that there is no connection to another cow diagnosed with BSE last May in Alberta, Canada.
(on camera): A spokesman for the Food Safety and Inspection Service says two wholesalers have distributed meat from the tainted cow. Interstate Meat sent their product to Washington state and Oregon and Willemet Valley Meat sent their cuts to Washington state, Oregon, California, and Nevada.
All their buyers have been notified and the beef recalled. And investigators are on the premises of both facilities.
Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: If it is confirmed the case of mad cow came from Canada, it could be very good news for the U.S. beef industry. But even if the U.S. cattle industry dodges this bullet, what lessons can be learned from this scare?
Joining me to talk about this on the phone today, what can be done in the future, Dr. Peter Jinman of the British Veterinary Association.
Doctor, are you with us?
PETER JINMAN, BRITISH VETERINARY ASSN.: Yes, I am indeed.
COLLINS: Tell us, if you would, quickly, I know you have had much in your past with the scare that happened in Britain. What, as the bottom line, can the United States learn from the experience there?
JINMAN: I think the most important thing to learn is to be open, to ensure that there is genuine openness in the discussion on this problem, because one thing that is required throughout it, is good information, positive information, from government that people believe and understand.
And if you fail to engage with your market, the people who are eating the product, who understand the product, and have trust in the system, then you end up with major, major problems.
COLLINS: How well informed do the think the United States and consumers in general are at this point?
JINMAN: I wouldn't wish to comment on that, because I don't know. All I can say is from our own point of view, we learned a lot of lessons in this country about the whole process of food production and how meat was produced, how it was cut up, how it was brought to the table. And that opened up the whole of the food industry in quite a major way for scrutiny and for discussion.
And one of the key points throughout it was always that where there was regulation, there had to be control, inspection, and audit, because it was no use having laws and rules if nobody enforced them, and nobody audited them.
And it became -- it was an expensive lesson. And it was an expensive procedure, but it was the only way in which to gain confidence back into the system.
COLLINS: Of course. Let's talk about that for a minute. How do you feel about the importance of these rules, as far as the disposal of parts and carcasses? I mean, this is what we're really talking about now, right?
JINMAN: Well, we're talking about two ends of it. First of all, we know that from our experiences here, this was a food based problem. Meat and bone meal seems to have been and has stood the test of time scientifically as being the likely means by which it was spread.
So therefore, it was how are animals fed in the first place? How were the mills and the feed compounders making the manufacturing of food? How well were they clearing out between batches of food? How is the food being transported?
So the first point was to make sure that that was properly inspected, audited and controlled, because without adequate controls there, then you have no means of ensuring that the animals are having a proper feed.
Then you got on to the process of slaughter of the cattle.
COLLINS: Right.
JINMAN: And scan. Coming back to your points there, how are they disposed of? How are the bits that you don't want in the system to reduce your chances all the time of infection?
COLLINS: What do your British colleagues do when they learned of this news? Was there kind of a sense all along that it could possibly reach the United States, this disease?
JINMAN: Yes, I think it's always been a slight surprise to us, with the huge population of cattle that you have there, that it was a very likely given the other countries around the world that have reported the odd case. And I put it at that, in the sense that single cases have turned up in one or two other countries, once they put in place surveillance systems, they started to find the disease.
So I think there's always been a feeling there's a huge number of cattle there, that it was very likely that you might find it. But as long as you've got the checks and balances, the inspection and the proper controls, then there was no need to be much of a panic.
COLLINS: All right, quickly Dr. Jinman, before we let you go here, how will the investigation proceed?
JINMAN: Clearly, they've got to trace this animal as much as possible, but you've got to put in place the checks and balances that are necessary. You've also got to put in place an adequate surveillance program. At the moment, you have a very low grade one. And I'm sure that that would be something that will be stepped up, because it's only by having confidence in the system that you can create confidence in the market afterwards.
COLLINS: Dr. Peter Jinman of the British Veterinary Association, we certainly appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much.
JINMAN: You're very welcome.
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 28, 2003 - 07:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN ANCHOR: Officials believe they have tracked the origins of the Washington state cow that is the first in the U.S. to be infected with mad cow disease. But the disease may have originated elsewhere.
CNN's Holly Firfer reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The USDA believes the infected cow came from Alberta, Canada, one of the 74 head dairy herd.
RON DEHAVEN, DR., USDA CHIEF VETERINARY OFFICER: The affected animal was very likely to have entered the United States as part of a group of 74 dairy cattle that were imported from the Canadian province of Alberta in August of 2001.
FIRFER: Although the USDA says it does not believe any of those remaining 73 cattle are infected with mad cow, as a precaution, they're tracking them down.
U.S. and Canadian health officials were able to identify the infected cow because an ear tag, removed from the animal at the time of slaughter, matched records in Canada.
A DNA test is being done to make a positive identification, because of discrepancies in the cow's age. According to U.S. records, the infected cow was 4.5 years old. Canadian records show the cow was 6.5 and had already birth two calves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is still much investigative work to be done, but whatever the outcome, whether the animal is of Canadian or of U.S. origin, we will work closely together with the U.S. and our international colleagues to deal with what is clearly a North American and global issue.
FIRFER: The DNA test results should be back within the week. According to the USDA, the age of the cow may tell U.S. officials where the Holstein might have been infected.
In 1997, the USDA banned all animal products, such as the brain and spinal cord from being used in animal feed, to prevent the spread of BSE. If this cow was older than U.S. officials believe, she might have been infected while on a farm in Canada, and not by feed in the United States. Investigators do say, however, that there is no connection to another cow diagnosed with BSE last May in Alberta, Canada.
(on camera): A spokesman for the Food Safety and Inspection Service says two wholesalers have distributed meat from the tainted cow. Interstate Meat sent their product to Washington state and Oregon and Willemet Valley Meat sent their cuts to Washington state, Oregon, California, and Nevada.
All their buyers have been notified and the beef recalled. And investigators are on the premises of both facilities.
Holly Firfer, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: If it is confirmed the case of mad cow came from Canada, it could be very good news for the U.S. beef industry. But even if the U.S. cattle industry dodges this bullet, what lessons can be learned from this scare?
Joining me to talk about this on the phone today, what can be done in the future, Dr. Peter Jinman of the British Veterinary Association.
Doctor, are you with us?
PETER JINMAN, BRITISH VETERINARY ASSN.: Yes, I am indeed.
COLLINS: Tell us, if you would, quickly, I know you have had much in your past with the scare that happened in Britain. What, as the bottom line, can the United States learn from the experience there?
JINMAN: I think the most important thing to learn is to be open, to ensure that there is genuine openness in the discussion on this problem, because one thing that is required throughout it, is good information, positive information, from government that people believe and understand.
And if you fail to engage with your market, the people who are eating the product, who understand the product, and have trust in the system, then you end up with major, major problems.
COLLINS: How well informed do the think the United States and consumers in general are at this point?
JINMAN: I wouldn't wish to comment on that, because I don't know. All I can say is from our own point of view, we learned a lot of lessons in this country about the whole process of food production and how meat was produced, how it was cut up, how it was brought to the table. And that opened up the whole of the food industry in quite a major way for scrutiny and for discussion.
And one of the key points throughout it was always that where there was regulation, there had to be control, inspection, and audit, because it was no use having laws and rules if nobody enforced them, and nobody audited them.
And it became -- it was an expensive lesson. And it was an expensive procedure, but it was the only way in which to gain confidence back into the system.
COLLINS: Of course. Let's talk about that for a minute. How do you feel about the importance of these rules, as far as the disposal of parts and carcasses? I mean, this is what we're really talking about now, right?
JINMAN: Well, we're talking about two ends of it. First of all, we know that from our experiences here, this was a food based problem. Meat and bone meal seems to have been and has stood the test of time scientifically as being the likely means by which it was spread.
So therefore, it was how are animals fed in the first place? How were the mills and the feed compounders making the manufacturing of food? How well were they clearing out between batches of food? How is the food being transported?
So the first point was to make sure that that was properly inspected, audited and controlled, because without adequate controls there, then you have no means of ensuring that the animals are having a proper feed.
Then you got on to the process of slaughter of the cattle.
COLLINS: Right.
JINMAN: And scan. Coming back to your points there, how are they disposed of? How are the bits that you don't want in the system to reduce your chances all the time of infection?
COLLINS: What do your British colleagues do when they learned of this news? Was there kind of a sense all along that it could possibly reach the United States, this disease?
JINMAN: Yes, I think it's always been a slight surprise to us, with the huge population of cattle that you have there, that it was a very likely given the other countries around the world that have reported the odd case. And I put it at that, in the sense that single cases have turned up in one or two other countries, once they put in place surveillance systems, they started to find the disease.
So I think there's always been a feeling there's a huge number of cattle there, that it was very likely that you might find it. But as long as you've got the checks and balances, the inspection and the proper controls, then there was no need to be much of a panic.
COLLINS: All right, quickly Dr. Jinman, before we let you go here, how will the investigation proceed?
JINMAN: Clearly, they've got to trace this animal as much as possible, but you've got to put in place the checks and balances that are necessary. You've also got to put in place an adequate surveillance program. At the moment, you have a very low grade one. And I'm sure that that would be something that will be stepped up, because it's only by having confidence in the system that you can create confidence in the market afterwards.
COLLINS: Dr. Peter Jinman of the British Veterinary Association, we certainly appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much.
JINMAN: You're very welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
