USDA proposes water saving measure WAHSINGTON, D.C. - Assistant Secretary of establishment operators Under an optional Agriculture Carol Tucker could reduce water used to requirement proposed by Foreman, poultry chill freshly slaughtered (fout <ii£a fibmefi fa « 4t*vi ] “POURED REINFORCED CONCRE designed & engineered for : available in both top & oxygen unloading. "LITTLE DAVID” BOTTOM UNLOAI FEED-EASY - Silo Unloaders, Fei Manure Handling Equipment. FREE ESTIMATES AND PLANNING ELIGIBLE FOR ASCS FINANCING 717-166 5701 I » GET MORE FOR YOUR DAIRY DOLLARS The money you spend for feed makes more money for you, when you choose FLORIN fortified Dairy Feeds. Count on it for maximum production from your dairy herd ... maximum profits, too. aWOLGEMUTH BROS., INC. MOUNT JOY, PA PH: 653-1451 Yj’fcv 1 * poultry by 50 per cent if chlorine were added. Under the proposal, water coming into poultry chilling tanks could be reduced to one-half gallon per turkey or goose, and one-quarter gallon per frying chicken, duck or guinea, but only if the water contained 20 parts per million chlorine. This would help assure that the reduced amount of water would not contaminate the product, Ms. Foreman said. She said the proposed chlorine level conforms with Food and Drug Ad ministration policy. Under federal poultry inspection regulations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Quality Service requires that freshly slaughtered poultry be cooled quickly to prevent spoilage, Ms. Foreman explained. This usually is done by im mersing the carcasses m tanks of water chilled mechanically or by ice. These tanks hold several thousand gallons of water, which is continuously ex changed. At present, inspection regulations require that water be exchanged at the rate of at least one gallon for each turkey and at least one half gallon for each frying chicken entering the chiller. These minimum levels were set when water supplies were not considered an environmental concern. Since then water has become recognized as a critical resource and disposal of large amounts of water as an economic waste. Lx , Following a study of poultry chilling operations by the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va., USDA conducted a study and Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 29,1978 field tests to determine if water intake could be reduced without affectmg the wholesomeness of the product. The VPI study indicated that a 50 per cent reduction in the minimum water ex change rate would have no significant adverse effect on the microbiological quality of the product or the sanitary condition of chill water. In its review, USDA also considered recent findings of the U.S. advisory committee nn salmonellosis DER water meeting set HARRISBURG - The Study Advisory Committee of the Department of En vironmental Resources’ Comprehensive Water Quality Management Plan for Study Area 3 will meet 7 p.m. on May 10, at the Holiday East Motor Hotel, Highspire, Pa. This is a public meeting and all in terested citizens are invited to attend. At this meeting, representatives from agriculture, industry, en vironmental groups and concerned taxpayers will take on the issues centering around the alternatives for wastewater management. Recently, the Federal government has offered incentives for states to consider alternatives to conventional sewage treatment plants that may prove to be more affordable to smaller, rural com munities. These alternatives include community septic systems, lagoons and land application of wastes ' V v v'S ■» Result of the studies and field tests prompted today’s proposal. This proposed amendment to poultry inspection regulations was published in the April 4 Federal Register. Comments on the proposal are invited until July 3. Written views should be submitted in duplicate to the Office of the Hearing Clerk, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250. Copies will be available for public in spection in the clerk’s office, room 1077, south building, at the department headquarters. quality May 10 generated by a community. DER is asking the public for guidance on when and where these alternatives should be considered in their management of water quality m the State. A number of alternatives for the management of wastewater have been proposed by Gannet, Fleming, Corrdry and Carpenter, the study con sultant for Study Area 3. This area includes Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, Schuylkill and Y ork counties. The meeting is sponsored by the Capitol Region Planning and Development Agency in an effort to provide citizens the op portunity to express their opinions on alternatives for their community as the plan is developed Further information is available from CRPDA, Harrisburg Host Inn, Suite 124, Harrisburg, Pa. Telephone: 717-939-7827. Comment time extended for nitrites in processed meats WASHINGTON, D.C. - The meat industry will be given additional time - until June 16 - to submit data concerning the use of nitrites and nitrates in dry cured cuts and fermented sausages, including dry and semi-dry sausages, Carol Tucker Foreman, assistant secretary of agriculture for food and consumer services, announced recently. Ms. Foreman said the additional tune is necessary to complete testmg that is presently being conducted by various laboratories. Last Oct. 18, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a notice stating that nitrates and nitrites used in the manufacture of cured meat products have the potential of interacting with com ponents of meat to form carcinogenic mtrosairunes. The meat industry was asked to submit data showing how various cured meat products can be manufactured usmg nitrates and nitrites without resulting in the formation of carcinogenic nitrosammes either during processing or 105
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers