FYI
Myra
attached mail follows:
from Public Citizen
USDA: Just Say No to Rotten Meat
A proposed change to the meat inspection process will make
it easier for diseased poultry, beef and pork to make it to your table. But
the comment period for this change is closing on August 29th, so it is
critical that you act quickly.
For years, federal food safety inspectors have been stationed at meat
packing facilities to ensure the safety of the end product. Currently USDA
inspectors reject any meat that they deem unfit for human consumption
including meat from diseased animals. It does not matter if the disease in
question can be transferred to humans, it is simply considered unwholesome
to allow people to eat diseased meat. But now, the USDA is proposing to
lower the standards for meat considered "wholesome" and safe to eat.
The USDA proposed a rule that would define meat from animals with cancer,
certain types of pneumonia, glandular swellings or lymphomas, sores,
infectious arthritis, and diseases caused by intestinal worms as safe for
human consumption. This change would classify tumors and open sores as
"aesthetic problems", which permits the meat to get the government's
seal of
approval. The new rule would allow meatpacking plants to remove the diseased
portion of the meat and process the rest without the consumer ever knowing
the difference.
ACTION:
Urge Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman to maintain the food quality and
inspection standards that currently exist and not allow diseased meat and
poultry to be marketed as "wholesome" and safe to eat. His e-mail
address is Daniel.Glickman@usda.gov.
For more information, check out Public Citizen
Web site at http://www.citizen.org.
Smiling Seriously,
Elfie
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