Wise Young
08-18-2002, 08:28 AM
This news will probably save more deers and reduce their hunting than anything that has happened in the last 100 years.
Posted Aug. 17, 2002
Some processors will pass on venison
Uncertainties over chronic wasting disease blamed
The Associated Press
Processing tips
State officials have been drafting recommendations they will send food processors on how to safely handle deer this fall. Here are some of the recommendations:
• Keep venison separate from all other types of processed meat.
• Do not use a saw to cut through deer. Use a knife.
• Do not cut through any bone or into the brain of a deer.
• Wear gloves when handling deer.
• Clean your equipment thoroughly, using a 50-50 solution of bleach and water.
• Don't eat or cut into any deer that looks diseased or disoriented.
Source: Dennis Buege, extension meat specialist with Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Some Wisconsin venison processors say they won't risk cutting into deer this fall because of chronic wasting disease, despite the state's education efforts to show the dangers are minimal.
No evidence has shown the fatal brain disease can be transmitted from deer to humans, but scientists also cannot guarantee eating venison from a diseased deer is safe, said Terry Burkhardt, the state's director of meat safety and inspection.
"To be able to prove that it will never happen is impossible at this point," he said. "That's where the fear remains."
With help from state and industry organizations, Dennis Buege, a University of Wisconsin-Madison meat specialist, has developed a fact sheet for processors statewide.
It warns people to avoid cutting into a head or backbone of a deer and into a deer that looks diseased or disoriented, he said. Abnormal versions of proteins called prions that are the source of the disease - which causes deer to waste away and die - accumulate in the brain, eyes, spinal cord, lymph nodes, tonsils and spleen.
Still, Buege said some will look at the fact sheet and decide to opt out of processing during the fall hunt.
"People are going to view this risk and think differently," he said. "They're all going to find their comfort level."
Jim VanEss, who owns Newton Meats Inc. in Newton, said he doesn't feel comfortable processing deer meat this fall because no one can guarantee it's safe. Venison makes up only a fraction of his business, so he said it's not worth it to cut into a deer.
"You hear some people talk that they'll handle the bones and spinal cord as hazardous materials for landfills," he said. "I don't make enough to be handling hazardous materials."
Others will wait for more information from the state before making a decision.
"I wouldn't take them right now, not until I know more and feel safe about it," said Richard Dickman. "We'll just sell more beef."
Dickman owns Dick's Meat Market in Mount Horeb, the heart of a 374-square-mile area where 24 deer tested positive for the disease. Department of Natural Resources officials hope to eradicate an estimated 25,000 deer in the area to keep the disease from spreading elsewhere in Wisconsin.
Outside the eradication zone, processors are more comfortable with cutting into deer.
Chuck Miesfeld, owner of Miesfeld's Market Inc. in Sheboygan, has produced a 28-minute video detailing the safe ways to hunt, process and eat deer. He believes the danger level is minimal.
"We will change our ways of processing deer and put safety levels way above and beyond what's required," he said.
"We are working on ways to tell the consumer not to be so afraid, that this is something that is very controllable and it shouldn't be a cause for concern."
Lon Zillman, who owns Zillman's Meat Market in Wausau, said he isn't worried because Colorado, where the disease was first reported in 1967, has not reported any illnesses caused by eating venison.
But in the end, Buege said many processors will weigh the risk against how much of their business would be affected.
"It really is a very wrenching thing for lots of people," Buege said. "Hopefully the fact sheet will help, but ultimately people will have to make their own decision."
Posted Aug. 17, 2002
Some processors will pass on venison
Uncertainties over chronic wasting disease blamed
The Associated Press
Processing tips
State officials have been drafting recommendations they will send food processors on how to safely handle deer this fall. Here are some of the recommendations:
• Keep venison separate from all other types of processed meat.
• Do not use a saw to cut through deer. Use a knife.
• Do not cut through any bone or into the brain of a deer.
• Wear gloves when handling deer.
• Clean your equipment thoroughly, using a 50-50 solution of bleach and water.
• Don't eat or cut into any deer that looks diseased or disoriented.
Source: Dennis Buege, extension meat specialist with Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Some Wisconsin venison processors say they won't risk cutting into deer this fall because of chronic wasting disease, despite the state's education efforts to show the dangers are minimal.
No evidence has shown the fatal brain disease can be transmitted from deer to humans, but scientists also cannot guarantee eating venison from a diseased deer is safe, said Terry Burkhardt, the state's director of meat safety and inspection.
"To be able to prove that it will never happen is impossible at this point," he said. "That's where the fear remains."
With help from state and industry organizations, Dennis Buege, a University of Wisconsin-Madison meat specialist, has developed a fact sheet for processors statewide.
It warns people to avoid cutting into a head or backbone of a deer and into a deer that looks diseased or disoriented, he said. Abnormal versions of proteins called prions that are the source of the disease - which causes deer to waste away and die - accumulate in the brain, eyes, spinal cord, lymph nodes, tonsils and spleen.
Still, Buege said some will look at the fact sheet and decide to opt out of processing during the fall hunt.
"People are going to view this risk and think differently," he said. "They're all going to find their comfort level."
Jim VanEss, who owns Newton Meats Inc. in Newton, said he doesn't feel comfortable processing deer meat this fall because no one can guarantee it's safe. Venison makes up only a fraction of his business, so he said it's not worth it to cut into a deer.
"You hear some people talk that they'll handle the bones and spinal cord as hazardous materials for landfills," he said. "I don't make enough to be handling hazardous materials."
Others will wait for more information from the state before making a decision.
"I wouldn't take them right now, not until I know more and feel safe about it," said Richard Dickman. "We'll just sell more beef."
Dickman owns Dick's Meat Market in Mount Horeb, the heart of a 374-square-mile area where 24 deer tested positive for the disease. Department of Natural Resources officials hope to eradicate an estimated 25,000 deer in the area to keep the disease from spreading elsewhere in Wisconsin.
Outside the eradication zone, processors are more comfortable with cutting into deer.
Chuck Miesfeld, owner of Miesfeld's Market Inc. in Sheboygan, has produced a 28-minute video detailing the safe ways to hunt, process and eat deer. He believes the danger level is minimal.
"We will change our ways of processing deer and put safety levels way above and beyond what's required," he said.
"We are working on ways to tell the consumer not to be so afraid, that this is something that is very controllable and it shouldn't be a cause for concern."
Lon Zillman, who owns Zillman's Meat Market in Wausau, said he isn't worried because Colorado, where the disease was first reported in 1967, has not reported any illnesses caused by eating venison.
But in the end, Buege said many processors will weigh the risk against how much of their business would be affected.
"It really is a very wrenching thing for lots of people," Buege said. "Hopefully the fact sheet will help, but ultimately people will have to make their own decision."