I try not to react to every negative photo or post I see
online about the meat industry. Frankly, I just don’t have the time. However,
when friends or a followers of my blog ask about certain post over and over
again, I think it’s time to address it. That happened to me this week.
This photo and claim from a ‘butcher’ has been circulating around social media. I added the words in yellow. |
I know how disgusting this picture looks, and using the word
CANCER makes it extra scary. However, as a meat scientist, I can assure you
that it is not cancer. It is an abscess,
a localized infection that the animal’s body was fighting.
Abscesses
like this one would be very rare to find
in a butcher shop. Our meat supply is one of the most inspected industries
in the world. Not even hospitals and nursing homes are inspected like meat
plants are. Employees of the USDA
Food Safety Inspection Service inspect every single animal as it goes
through the harvest process. In a big commercial plant, dozens of pairs of eyes
will look at every carcass. When an abscess is spotted, it is removed
immediately. If an animal has been sick, USDA inspectors will see the signs of
illness in the animal’s lymph nodes and internal organs. Sick animals are
condemned and not allowed to go into the food supply.
The meat is further processed and cut up on the fabrication
floor. When an abscess is found there, the whole line must be stopped and
sanitized. The abscess and the tissue around it is removed and discarded. At
that point, the knives, the table, and anything that was in contact with the
abscess would have to be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized.
So, there are several
barriers that keep abscesses out of a retail butcher’s hands. I have worked in
the meat department of a grocery store and have known several butchers
throughout my career. I know they take their jobs very seriously and that they would
treat an abscess just like it would be treated at the packing plant. If an
abscess did make it to them, I’m sure they would cut out the abscess and the
tissue around it and discard it. Then the equipment and area would be cleaned.
I take issue with posts like these for several reasons.
- They are scare-tactics meant to shock and gross-out people, causing a mistrust of our food system. Cancer is such a scary word. Most of our meat comes from young animals who would be very unlikely to have cancer. Furthermore, an animal with cancer would be very sick and would be condemned on the kill floor by the inspector.
- Pictures like these aren’t about safety or public health; they are about generating clicks and shares and fame for the originator. They are to twitter what auto accidents are to drivers: a sight that makes you slow down and look – and in the case of Facebook and Twitter, perhaps even share, giving the originator of the content attention and followers.
- If these butchers that shared this ‘information,’ were being truthful and were so concerned about these practices in their place of business, why didn’t they speak up? Why would you work somewhere for 30 years where you were disgusted by their policies? Why hasn’t he called his meat supplier and complained about these defects in the meat?
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the safety of the US meat
supply, the 8,000 inspectors who oversee production and the hard-working people
in our meat plants who bring the safest, most affordable meat supply to our
tables. I hope this information helps you feel the same way.
As always, let me know if you have any questions.
Thank goodness!
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