"The Marketing Arm Of The USDA Says One Thing, But The CDC Says Another" (Click Link To Read Related Story)

Beef, poultry and pork its what’s for dinner in over 88% of American households on a daily basis. Never before has the industry faced so much doubt when it comes to the safety of these meat products. E coli, mad cow prions, listeria, the avian flu and now salmonella crossing over into beef and pork presents significant dangers. During the past ten years the meat industry has witnessed a rise of meat related illnesses and deaths in conjunction with these pathogens. Is this a natural occurrence or have we created these ailments ourselves through shortcuts and relaxed production standards. Almost all of these pathogens can be avoided with the exception of the avian flu, if the proper care is taken in the slaughterhouses and processing plants of all sizes. We must continue to monitor and protect the feed we give livestock so that we can protect these animals and ourselves from the effects of uncontrolled cannibalism.

Another silent but deadly pathogen is called Toxoplasma; this parasite is found in the fecal matter of rodents and cats. In order to rid themselves of this parasite, cats and rodents shed it in their feces. If by some chance a human came in contact with this parasite, they have it for life. There is no cure, no vaccine and no treatments. The only saving grace is our wonderful and complex immune systems that works proactively and protects us from an environment full of viruses, bacteria and parasites like Toxoplasma. If an individual was unfortunate enough not to have a normal immune systems, then this can become a serious issue. Unborn babies and persons suffering from aliments such as: sickle cell, lupus, common allergies and HIV can face dire consequences when exposed to Toxoplasma according to the CDC. Well I guess you are asking yourself, what does Toxoplasma have to do with the safety of meat products, well let me explain.

There is a meat production facility in the state of Florida; annually they where producing over 8 millions pounds of beef products such as ground beef, hamburger patties and sausage links. In this state operated facility RATS were present and RAT FECAL MATTER was found in the storage and production areas. A cat was also present in these areas, to control the rodent population. CAT FECAL MATTER was also found around the production areas.
Air movement can easily spread the Toxoplasma virus and it can be easily inhaled into the lungs and adsorbed into the system through the skin. In a processing plant the parasite can be absorbed into the meat through contaminated production areas. This is a serious national public health issues that the state of Florida and the USDA are aware of and are not doing anything to remedy. This meat may still be in distribution and in freezers waiting to be consumed and placing consumers at risk, as this meat was never subject to a recall in spite of consistent pleas from the contractor of these meat items.

These meat products were shipped across the United States to public schools, national supermarket chains, hospitals and prisons nationwide. There is a strong possibility that schools in your local area received these tainted meat products and you, your child and your pregnant friends may have consumed them.

We have contacted Governor Jeb Bush, Whitney Meagher of the National PTA, Nancy Cox President of the Florida PTA, Saxby Chambliss of the United States Senate and Tom Price of the United States House of Representatives to name a few. Still we receive no help from these officials in alerting the public of this national health issue. We must protect our ourselves, our children and our food chain from toxins and pathogens like Toxoplasma and salmonella.