Industry’s Beef Safety Successes Featured In Usa Today

Feb 10, 2010

A cover story in the February 8 USA Today Life section interviewed industry sources on efforts to keep beef safe from E. coli O157:H7. Kansas State University professors James Marsden and Dan Thomson explained beef safety intervention strategies starting at the ranch and continuing through the processing plant. Other sources quoted in the story claimed the industry’s efforts have substantially lowered E. coli levels in beef.

Thomson's work on an E. coli vaccine produced by Epitopix was addressed in the USA Today story. He conducted field trials indicating 86% of vaccinated cattle stopped shedding the bacteria. Of the vaccinated cattle still shedding E. coli, there was a 98% reduction in the amount. A feature story on the Epitopix vaccine appears in the February Kansas Stockman.

While NCBA wasn’t quoted in the USA Today story, the organization did provide background information for the article. NCBA Executive Director of Beef Safety Research Mandy Carr Johnson connected with the reporter to highlight steps by ranchers, feeders and packers to make steaks, roasts and hamburger safer for consumers.

Source : Kansas Livestock Association

Video: What is Chicken Feed Made From?? | MD F&H

In Queen Anne in Queen Anne’s county, Farmer David Denny works hard to raise hundreds of chickens so that they may reach regular growth milestones on schedule. This is important because poultry integrators like Purdue require the chickens to be a certain size and weight in a set number of weeks. How can such a feit be accomplished so consistently in such a short period of time? It’s all due to the birds' carefully planned diet, which is tailor-made to meet their nutritional needs. The process begins long before any chickens even arrive on the farm all thanks to Farmer David and the grains he grows throughout the year. These grains are in turn used to create the exact feed which provides the necessary nutrients to the David Denny Farm’s poultry.