Perspectives on Traceability and BSE Testing in the U.S. Beef Industry

The discoveries of a dairy cow in the state of Washington in December 2003 and a beef cow in Texas in June 2005, both infected with BSE, essentially removed any doubt that a better tracking method for animals and meat needs to be implemented in the United States. These tracking methods are often referred to as traceability. However, an important consideration evolving out of the pressure placed on the United States to develop some type of animal and meat traceability system is how to address consumer concerns about food safety related to BSE effectively without drastically disrupting the current domestic meat production and processing system. This article describes why farm-to-fork traceability is a difficult and costly task in modern, high-volume beef packing plants and also provides some insights based on survey data about consumer preferences for different tracking and testing methods to address food safety concerns relative to BSE