I have good news for chefs, clubs, restaurants, hotels, beef lovers and the entire US population. US beef is safe to eat and the issues associated with "Mad Cow," "EColi" and food borne s pathogens are being extinguished through use of our strict government regulations. US scientists have pinpointed the key issues of control; our hard working cattle producers are following the guidelines and guess what? It's working!



I had the pleasure of being asked to sit on a panel of food safety experts to help spread the word on food safety to industry and consumers alike. It is called the 
"Food Safety Education
Network" or "FSEN" . The panel members include a registered dietitian, a medical doctor, and food scientists, along with one chef - me of course! 

The purpose of the panel is to reach all cross sections of the American public and inform them on the "truths" and "untruths" of the natural concerns with beef that consumers would have based on the information available to date - and let me tell you, we are grossly misinformed! Just the other day my sous-chef, Yasu, was expressing his concern that the trade to Japan was once again denied because the US "wasn't testing every cow for BSE (mad cow)." Well Yasu made me think, "If Japan can test every cow why can't the most powerful nation in the world?" What I quickly found out was that Japan had taken this "test every cow" stance because they had dropped the ball in the early stages and now they are seeking consumers' approval. The first case in the UK back in 1986 stopped the US import of whole cattle immediately where Japan kept importing up until 1992. It is important to note the whole cattle reference because BSE is found only is specified risk materials such as the spine and brain, which are removed before processing. BSE is not found in the muscle of a cow, which is where we get our meat from. 



The first day of the seminar we spent some time in the butcher/research room at Colorado 

State University. I had a chance to meet the team that brought the flat iron steak to market headed by Bucky Gwartney. It turns out that the department profiled all the bovine muscle groups in the fifties and found the second most tender muscle (tenderloin being #1) in the shoulder. It is the top blade or "Flat Iron" and until about five years ago it wasn't being utilized to its full potential. Recent demands for interesting, new, less expensive cuts had Bucky on the job and he delivered. For a complete 3-D anatomy, muscle profile and more on beef visit
www.bovine.unl.edu - you will be amazed at the cutting edge technology and graphics!