SEMA_________________________________

SOUTHEASTERN MEAT ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 620777; Oviedo, FL 32762 Phone: 407-365-5661

CHECKLIST & REASSESSMENT

The Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a 197 page report of the Checklist and Reassessment of Control for E. coli O157:H7 in Beef Operations.
The report is available to review at: www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Ecoli_Reassement_&_Checklist.pdf.

USDA PROPOSED RULE ON DISPOSITION OF DOWNER CATTLE

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a proposed rule to amend the Federal meat inspection regulations to initiate a complete ban on the slaughter of cattle that become non-ambulatory after initial inspection by Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspection program personnel.

This proposed rule follows the May 20 announcement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer to remove the provision that states that the FSIS inspection program will determine the disposition of cattle that become non-ambulatory disabled after they have passed ante-mortem, before slaughter, inspection on a case-by-case basis. Under the proposed rule, all cattle that are non-ambulatory disabled at any time prior to slaughter, including those that become non-ambulatory disabled after passing ante-mortem inspection, will be condemned and properly disposed of.

Under the proposed rule, cattle that become non-ambulatory disabled from an acute injury after ante-mortem inspection will no longer be eligible to proceed to slaughter as "U.S. Suspects." Instead, FSIS inspectors will tag these cattle as "U.S. condemned" and prohibit these animals from proceeding to slaughter. Establishments will be required to notify FSIS personnel when cattle become disabled after passing ante-mortem inspection.

Of the nearly 34 million cattle that were slaughtered in 2007, less than 1,000 cattle that were re-inspected were actually approved by the veterinarian for slaughter. This represents less than 0.003 percent of cattle slaughtered annually.

Comments on this proposed rule must be received on or before September 29th, 2008. Comments can be sent to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 2534 South Agriculture Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, D.C. 20250; e-mailed to fsis.regulationscomments@fsis.usda.gov.

For further technical information on the proposed rule, contact Dr. Daniel Engeljohn, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Policy and Program Development, at (202) 205-0495 or by fax at (202) 720-2025.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELLING
FSIS ISSUED INTERIM FINAL RULE & REQUEST COMMENTS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued an interim final rule amending its regulations to provide that, to receive approval by FSIS, any label for a meat or poultry product that is a covered commodity, as defined by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) interim final rule on country of origin labeling (COOL), must comply with that interim final rule. FSIS is requesting comments on label approval for country of Origin for various meat and poultry products.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an interim final rule for the mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) program that will become effective on Sept. 30, 2008. The requirements of this rule will not apply to covered commodities produced or packaged before that date.

The rule covers muscle cuts and ground beef (including veal), lamb, chicken, goat, and pork; perishable agricultural commodities (fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables); macadamia nuts; pecans; ginseng; and peanuts -- as required by the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills. Commodities covered under COOL must be labeled at retail to indicate their country of origin. However, they are excluded from mandatory COOL if they are an ingredient in a processed food item. USDA has also revised the definition of a processed food item so that items derived from a covered commodity that has undergone a physical or chemical change (e.g., cooking, curing, smoking) or that has been combined with other covered commodities or other substantive food components (e.g., chocolate, breading, tomato sauce) are excluded from COOL labeling. FSIS is not amending its regulations or labeling policies for meat or poultry products that are non-covered commodities.

Comments must be received on or before Sept. 29, 2008, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, by mail to: Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 2534, South Building, Washington, D.C. 20250. All comments must identify FSIS and the docket number FSIS-2008-0027.

HURRICANCE SEASON BE PREPARED

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing food safety recommendations for those hit by severe storms or hurricanes. This information may help your customers to minimize the potential of food borne illnesses due to power outages and other problems related to severe weather.

The web site covers steps to follow to prepare for a possible weather emergency and after the weather emergency.

This information can be found at: www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_081808_02/index.asp.

REGULATORY WEB SEMINARS

FSIS is sponsors a monthly seminar series. The seminars cover a variety of technical topics concerning FSIS policies and new technologies of interest to industry. FSIS welcomes participation to all at no cost. The seminars are conducted via Net Meeting. Net Meeting uses internet access for viewing the presentation and a phone line for the audio portion. Online registration forms are provided (valid email address required). Pre-registration is required.

Vacci-Test Demonstrates the First Same-Shift Test for E. coli O157:H7

With food safety top of mind for consumers and the food industry, Vacci-Test Corporation (“Vacci-Test”) has announced that its first food safety test, FoodChek™-E.coli, has successfully completed a field trial at a major meat packaging facility and has shown that it can accurately test for E. coli O157:H7 in less than 6 hours, including enrichment. FoodChek™-E.coli is a revolutionary new same-shift test that is rapid, accurate and cost effective.

FoodChek™-E.coli uses magnetic nanotechnology and a proprietary, inexpensive and easy-to-use magnetic reader that provides a very sensitive, specific and quantitative test result. Vacci-Test is a privately held Canadian corporation that specializes in the development and commercialization of proprietary food safety tests, based on magnetic nanotechnology, for the rapid detection and quantitative measurement of pathogens in food.

For more information contact; William J. Hogan, Vice Chairman at:Vacci-Test Corporation, Telephone: (403) 269-9424 Fax: (403) 263-6357 Email: info@vaccitest.com Website: www.vaccitest.com

ASK

Certificates of Analysis
Q: A federally inspected establishment has a prerequisite program for receiving beef trim or raw ground beef. Is it required to have a Certificate of Analysis (COA) from the supplier for every incoming shipment of beef trim and/or raw ground beef?

A: No, it is not a FSIS requirement that a COA accompany incoming shipments of beef trim and raw
ground beef. However, if the establishment has made the determination at the receiving step in its hazard analysis that E. coli O157:H7 is a hazard not reasonably likely to occur in incoming raw beef, it should be able to demonstrate the on-going effectiveness of the prerequisite program or other basis upon which this food safety decision was made. How it supports this decision is up to the establishment. FSIS doesn’t see how an establishment can demonstrate the E.coli O157:H7 is not reasonably likely to be present in the beef without a current COA for the specific production lot.

However, it is the establishment’s responsibility to demonstrate that the preventive measures it employs are effective.

The above question is part of the FSIS database of questions, askFSIS, which can be accessed at
www.fsis.usda.gov.

REGULATORY EDUCATION SESSION

Small and very small plant owners and operators are invited to join FSIS inspection personnel at regulatory education sessions. The workshops will include a walk-through of a variety of topics, which may include HACCP, Sanitation Performance Standards, Sanitation SOPs, Rules of Practice, Food Defense strategies, E. coli 0157:H7 workshops.

To register call 800.336.3747 or for online registration forms and information about upcoming sessions go to: www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events.

None are currently scheduled in the southeastern part of the United States.

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Things to Ponder . . . . . . . . .
The greatest “ability” is “dependability”

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Companies that invest in employee learning have higher productivity, revenue growth,
and profit growth than companies that do not.

The following article was submitted by Jeff Faulkner of The Rawls Group. Jeff was a speaker at the SEMA 2008 convention. The following is part one, part two will follow in the October issue.

Creating the Partnership You Want
Jeff Faulkner, M.S., LPC, BCPC

We are seeing the largest transfer of wealth take place before our eyes as senior generation owners of family businesses begin to retire and turn the businesses over to their kids. We are also seeing that many of these retiring business leaders are opting for a leadership structure in the next generation that involves a partnership of some kind. The patriarchs/matriarchs of the business are becoming more and more reluctant to choose a family successor and are tending to treat the family members as equal partners. The reasons for this are varied but include:

• Parents want to treat their children equally and mistakenly believe that they can impose a partnership upon them,
• Parents don’t want to upset their children by making a choice, and
• Multiple next generation potential leaders without a clear choice of who that leader should be.

Partnerships in family businesses are as diverse as the family members who make them up. During the transition process, a partnership may exist between father and son; after the transfer, however, partnerships may exist between siblings, or between cousins, or between a combination of siblings and cousins.

There are many dangers and pitfalls to avoid in creating a partnership among family members. Consider the following in developing healthy and effective partnerships:

Before doing anything else, first distinguish the working arrangement between a joint economic venture and a partnership.

A joint economic venture is when two or more people work together to make money. Outside the family business arena, many law firms or accounting firms would fit into this category. Their businesses may be set up as legal partnership arrangements, but they are as far from partnering together as one could imagine. Rather, the partners are typically out for their own best interest. In contrast, a partnership exists when the business leaders choose to work together for reasons other than money. It may be to carry on the family legacy or maintain the close emotional bonding of a friendship or family relationships. Fundamentally, it occurs when their passion for the maintenance of their relationship is just as strong as their passion to make money and be successful in the business. And at its foundation is the belief that there is no business gain worth a family loss. In essence, a true partnership is like a marriage. A marriage requires work on the relationship to be a good marriage. A partnership is the same way – it requires commitment and work.

Before a healthy partnership can be developed, the members of the partnership must establish a shared concept of what a healthy partnership looks like. There are five fundamental traits that characterize a healthy partnership:

1. Shared Vision
2. Clear Roles and Responsibilities
3. Common Work Ethic
4. Solid Relationships
5. Excellent Communication

The Rawls Group at 407-578-4455