When Helen Baron of Saanich, B.C., bit into her sirloin shish kebab and struck a needle, the repercussions went beyond her.
John Campbell, a professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, told the recent Western Canada Feedlot Management School in Saskatoon that the impact was severe.
“It’s in the national news. It’s on the internet. It’s not the media’s fault. It was a cattle producer’s fault.
“It undermines everything we do to assure the public that the beef industry is responsible, professional and doesn’t need more regulation,” Campbell said.
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Larry Frischke, a veterinarian with Wyeth Animal Health in Calgary, agreed.
“It’s not just one needle in a sea of cattle,” he said. “Finding (the needle) in a sirloin steak is the first problem. Somebody, despite years of being told not to inject in the hip, was placing a needle into premium meat at the wrong end. Secondly, if you break off a needle, it needs to be identified and that information passed on down the production chain.”
During a recent feedlot management school, Frischke conducted an autopsy on a steer that had been injected in the out of date manner.
John McKinnon, beef research chair at the college, said the post-mortem is a good tool to show producers the effect of poor injection site choices.
“You will see what happens to the meat that you are producing and exactly why you have to change your practices,” he said.
Will Lowe, cattle buyer with Cargill, said his company’s customers are demanding more consistently tender meat and there is no room at Cargill for needle-damaged material.
Frischke’s workshop showed the group some cuts of meat damaged by poor injection techniques. Some were obvious, while others were simply pale, toughened pieces of sirloin.
