Consumers Union's Comments on

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service
(FSIS)

Proposed Rule on Requirements for the Disposition of Cattle that Become
Non-Ambulatory Disabled Following Ante-Mortem Inspection

FSIS-2008-0022

September 29, 2008

Submitted by

Michael Hansen, PhD

Senior Scientist

**Summary**

Consumers Union[^1] (CU) welcomes the opportunity to comment on USDA's
Proposed rule on requirements for the disposition of cattle that become
non-ambulatory disabled following ante-mortem inspection. CU believes
that "non-ambulatory disabled" cattle (aka "downer cows") should never
be allowed into the human food chain, in large part due to the potential
food safety risk such animals pose. Thus, CU strongly supports this
proposed rule as it will close a loophole in USDA regulation so that
***all*** "non-ambulatory disabled" cattle (aka "downer cows") will be
condemned and not allowed into the human food supply, regardless of when
they become downer cows.

In January, 2004, USDA's interim Final rule, "Prohibition of the Use of
Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the
Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle" (69 FR 1862, January 12,
2004), USDA/FSIS clearly prohibited the slaughter of downer cows for
human food under any circumstance. The USDA took this strong action less
than 1 month after the announcement on December 23, 2003 of the first US
case of mad cow disease. USDA took this action because they recognized,
in part, that downers cows are at increased risk of mad cow disease. CU
strongly supported USDA taking this action and have supported bills,
such as the 2004 Downed Animal Protection Act, which would ban use of
downed animals for human food[^2].

However, when FSIS published the final rule, "Prohibition of the Use of
Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the
Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle; Prohibition of the Use of
Certain Stunning Devices Used to Immobilize Cattle During Slaughter" (72
FR 38700), some four and a half years later on July 13, 2007, a loophole
on the absolute prohibition of use of downer cows for human food had
materialized. In this final rule (72 FR 38700), USDA allowed FSIS
personnel to determine, on a case-by-case basis, what to do with cattle
that passed ante-mortem inspection but then became "downer cows" (e.g.
become non-ambulatory disabled cattle) prior to slaughter. If FSIS
public health veterinarians determined that these cows, which passed
ante-mortem inspection, became downers due to an acute injury, such as a
broken leg or severed tendon, then such cows could be labeled "US
Suspect" and can go to slaughter, under the thinking that such animals
do not pose a food safety risk. The final rule also stipulated that "US
Suspect" animals had to be tracked through the slaughter process and
reinspected to insure that the animal became a downer due to an acute
injury.

The scandal over the treatment of downers cows at Hallmark/Westland Meat
Packing Company early this year, which lead to the largest meat recall
in history, shows the problem when there is not a clear line saying that
***no*** downer cows will be permitted into the human food supply. When
there is not a clear line prohibition, establishments may be tempted to
present weakened cattle for slaughter in the hope that such cattle will
remain ambulatory long enough to be slaughtered.

In addition, another benefit of having a clear prohibition on use of all
downer cows for human food, regardless of why the cow became a downer,
is that USDA inspection personnel do not have to spend any time
determining if a given animal deserves the "US Suspect" label nor
reinspecting such "US Suspects" after slaughter. Thus, USDA inspection
personnel can spend more time on other inspection activities.

In sum, CU supports deletion of the "US Suspect" category of cattle so
that there is a clear ban on ***all*** downer cows being slaughtered for
human food. Thus, we support USDA's removal of the provision in 9 CFR
309.3(e) that allows for case-by-case disposition of cattle that become
non-ambulatory disabled after ante-mortem inspection. In addition, we
also support USDA's proposal to modify 9 CFR 309.3(e) so that
establishments are required to notify FSIS inspection personnel when
cattle become downers after ante-mortem inspection. If slaughterhouses
are required to notify USDA if cattle become downers after ante-mortem
inspection, this should reduce the chance that such slaughterhouses
might try to send these animals to slaughter. We note that
Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company did not always notify FSIS
inspection personnel when animals that passed ante mortem inspection
subsequently became downers prior to slaughter, and so these animals
were not reinspected.

We urge USDA to finalize this proposed rule so that all downer cows are
banned from being used for human food. Taking this action will improve
the safety of US meat.

[^1]: *Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, is an expert,
    independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a
    fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower
    consumers to protect themselves. To achieve this mission, we test,
    inform, and protect. To maintain our independence and impartiality,
    Consumers Union accepts no outside advertising, no free test
    samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers.
    Consumers Union supports itself through the sale of our information
    products and services, individual contributions, and a few
    noncommercial grants. Some 4.5 million people subscribe to Consumer
    Reports, with another 2.5 million subscribing online.*

[^2]: http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_food_safety/000764.html