# 114 USDA and Applied Common Sense !

Razors Edge # 114 USDA and Applied Common Sense
In the Chicago Tribune, October 2, 2007, the headline read " Bill would reduce meat inspections ", it goes on to say "despite E. coli scare, Congress mulls easing law ".
In the Chicago Tribune, October 4, 2007, " USDA took 18 days in the meat recall ". The article goes on to state " agency knew of tainted burgers" employee writes.
Both articles were by written Stephen J. Hedges, of the Washington Bureau.
Now commences the scary part.

The two headlines are bad enough, but when one goes into actually reading the full article, you just have to wonder “ who is getting rich, selling stupid pills “. Pure “lack of common sense” glares at you, as you read more of the article. So, in face of the largest, contaminated meat, recall in history, our Congress is considering legislation that would REDUCE required federal inspections for small meat companies that ship to another state. This little noticed-noticed legislative change is buried deep within the farm bill, approved in July, by the house. It mentions that “ only state inspections would be required for some meat products “.The measure was planted in the farm bill by Rep. Collin Peterson ( D-Minn. ) say congressional staffers familiar with the bill. Anyway, the meat in question had E.coli 0157:H7, in it. So what is E.coli, it is a possibly deadly bacterium that causes bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps and dehydration. Catch the “possibly deadly “ part of what E.coli represents to ones health, meaning it could kill one. Lest you overlook that part, it means E.coli poisoning, folks. Some states, at this time, do not even have meat inspection laws, and depend on the federal inspections. The second article goes into the reasons the USDA, delayed taking action. A tiny paragraph states, as I interpret it, “ if its only poop, don’t worry, but check to see if it is an E.coli strain that causes human illness “ ! It was finally classed as “ Class 1 “, which is the USDA’s most serious, with a reasonable probability that eating the food will cause health problems or death. What I found of interest, was that in the plant that was affected by the recall, there was previously, a USDA meat safety inspector within that plant. The article goes on to state that “ E.coli poisoning, is especially hard on children and the elderly and can, according to the USDA cause severe kidney damage.
See my :
NothingButTheTruth Index
Sunday, September 30, 2007
# 11 More Hyperbole, Hypocrisy and Nonsense
on how to contact your states representatives, if you want to pick up the safety torch.