2003 News Archive
Cattlewomen Educate Consumers About Irradiated Beef
DENVER
(October 9, 2003) - With funding from America’s beef producers through their $1-per-head checkoff, 250 American National CattleWomen, Inc. (ANCW) volunteers will be conducting educational demonstrations across the country emphasizing food safety, nutrition and awareness of irradiated ground beef during the coming year.
The education program is the result of a proposal approved by the Beef Promotion Operating Committee for fiscal 2004, which began Oct. 1. The goal of the program is to deliver accurate, science-based information about irradiation to consumers, to help them in making educated decisions about food safety for themselves and their families.
This year, for example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave public school officials in the nation’s 93,000 schools the option to offer 25 million children irradiated ground beef in school lunch programs. Parents, teachers, school administrators and foodservice personnel will be asking the question, "Should we serve irradiated ground beef in our school?" Volunteers with ANCW will be there to answer questions they might have about irradiation as they make those decisions for themselves.
"Safety is most important when serving ground beef to minors, the elderly and persons with a compromised immune system," said Susan Hammons, ANCW Special Projects Committee chair. "Comments and questions about irradiated ground beef need to have an informative and friendly response from a trained industry spokesperson."
Emphasis will be placed on the fact that any ground beef product still needs to be cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, that safe food handling procedures need to be followed and that irradiation is not a substitute for any current safety standards in the processing of ground beef.
A recent survey conducted by ANCW shows there is still public confusion about irradiated ground beef. ANCW members surveyed 403 participants at the recent Connecticut Women’s Expo in Hartford, Conn., where volunteers served more than 2,500 irradiated burgers.
Of those surveyed, 64 percent were unaware of irradiated ground beef before the event but a whopping 91 percent said they enjoyed the taste of the burgers. When quizzed about the internal temperature of properly cooked ground beef, 43 percent of respondents guessed wrong or didn’t know: the correct answer is 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Seventy-six percent of respondents said they believed that irradiated ground beef raised the safety level of ground beef.
The CattleWomen have hosted similar education events at the New York State Fair, the Maryland State Fair and at regional workshops.
"At these events, we hear from people that irradiated ground beef tastes just like regular ground beef and they appreciate the added safety factor," Hammons said. "ANCW is excited to have this opportunity to attend events where we can educate consumers about the process used to irradiate ground beef."
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The Beef Checkoff was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.
The American National CattleWomen, Inc. is a grassroots volunteer organization of women involved in educating and promoting the convenient and nutritious quality of beef.
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