AMES, lowa Emphasizing
the importance of safer foods for
America’s consumers. National
Farmers Organization joins with
the General Accounting Office in
its recommendations to Congress
to upgrade and expand food in
spection and import procedures.
QUENTIN (Lebanon Co.)
More than 200 of the top Ameri
can Saddlebred horses in the
country, including a number of
reigning world's champions, will
gather here July 22-25 to raise
money for central Pennsylvania’s
needy children.
The ninth annual Children’s
Benefit Horse Show will pit more
than 200 American Saddlebred,
Morgan, and roadster horses and
Hackney ponies from 20 states
against one another in contests of
animation, speed, and brilliance.
The show, presented by the
United Professional Horseman's
Association (UPHA), Chapter 15,
benefits the Community Action
Program of Lancaster County. It
Land O’Lakes/Dairyman’s
Plan Major Cheese Whey Plant
ARDEN HILLS,
Minn. Two daily cooperatives
officially merged this week, Land
O’Lakes and Dairyman’s
Cooperative Creamery
Association.
Recently they also announced
plans to equip and operate a large
scale cheese and whey fractions
facility in Tulare, California.
A 300.000-square-fool food
processing facility was recently
acquired in Tulare by Dairyman’s
in anticipation of a business ven
ture with Land O’Lakes. Plans are
now in place to remodel and ex
pand the 15-year-old building into
a cheese plant and next generation
whey fractions facility. Whey
fractions are being used extensive
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National Farmers Organization Joins U.S. General
Accounting Office In Calling For Safe, Imported Foods
While imports increase at a
steady pace. Food and Drug Ad
ministration testing of individual
products coming into this country
has fallen from about eight per
cent in fiscal year 1992 to 1.7 per
cent in 1997. Out of about 81 mil
lion cases of food borne illnesses.
Top Horses To Gather
For Children’s Show
carries the American Horse Shows
Association’s highest, or “A" rat
ing, and for three years in a tow
has been voted one of the top
shows in the county by UPHA
members.
The majority of the horses com
peting at the show are of the
American Saddlebred breed. They
have been called “the world’s
most beautiful horse” and the
“peacocks of the show ring” be
cause of their high action, lofty
head carriage and thrilling per
formances.
The funds raised by the show
benefit the Community Action
Program of Lancaster County.
Half the money goes to the Shelter
ly as a high protein ingredient in
sports and nutrition drinks and
prepared food mixes. Cooperative
officials indicate the planning, de
veloping and equipping of the
plant will be handled on an expe
dited basis.
“As Land O’Lakes and Dairy
man’s come together, we have a
clear vision of what we will ac
complish in the years to come. At
the top of the list is the develop
ment of this facility to add value to
member’s milk and meet our cus
tomers’ demands for cheese and
high value whey products,” said
Jack Gherty, president and chief
executive officer of Land
O’Lakes. “Our still new cheese/
whey facility in Perham, Minn, is
up to 9,100 deaths occur each
year, according to GAO.
In a comprehensive review of
federal programs aimed at ensur
ing safe food imports, the GAO
recently made recommendations
to more adequately prevent unsafe
for Abused Women, which pro
vides shelter, counseling, recrea
tion and tutoring in a violence-free
atmosphere for the children of
abused women.
The remainder of the money is
donated to the Community Action
Program Child Care Center,
which provides development day
care for the children of low-in
come families. The money raised
in 1997 was used to subsidize the
cost of day care for low-income
families.
In addition to four evenings of
top equestrian competition, the
show will feature an academy
show beginning at 11 a.m. on
Saturday, July 25. The academy
show is for beginning riders who
already operating at its capacity,
so we are confident of the need for
additional volume.”
Jack Prince, president and chief
executive officer of Dairyman’s,
said, “This is an exciting develop
ment and it’s indicative of Land
O’Lakes commitment to matching
its long history as a national mar
keter of value-added products
with an equally extensive system
for procuring and processing milk
nationally.”
food from ending up in American
supermarkets, restaurants and
homes. Costs for medical treat
ment and productivity losses asso
ciated with food borne illnesses
and deaths range from $6.6 billion
to $37.1 billion, according to
USDA Economic Research Ser-
take lessons but do not own a
show horse.
“The academy show gives be
ginning riders, both children and
adults, the opportunity to try
showing in a relaxed, low key at
mosphere,” said Marty Waldman,
UPHA Chapter president. “The
classes are designed to allow rid
ers of all skill levels to compete.
Riders compete on the same hors
es on which they take riding in
struction, and dress codes are re
laxed, to enable riders to give the
show ring a try without making a
big financial commitment.”
Saturday, July 25 will also fea
ture a Model Horse Show, in
which toy horses arc exhibited in
much the same way as their live
counterparts. Throughout the run
of the show spectators will also
enjoy a shopping village, a num
ber of food stands serving refresh
ments, and a playground for chil
dren. A limited number of box
seats in the covered grandstand
are available for $5 each, and
spectators are invited to bring
lawn chairs and a picnic to enjoy
at ringside.
Admission is by donation: $5
for adults, $2 for children ag4s 5
and over is suggested. Children
ages 4 and under are admitted
free. For more information, phone
(717) 898-5874.
.Randall G. Renninger
Certified Public Accountant
Specializing in agricul.ture and construction industries
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vice.
National Farmers is forwarding
a letter of support for the recom
mendations to the U.S. Senate
subcommittee which requested an
evaluation of the food import sys
tem. The letter will also be sent to
the Director of Food and Agricul
ture Issues for the GAO.
“The GAO has taken the lead in
creating solutions to imported
food safety concerns, and we urge
Congress to move ahead in insti
tuting the agency’s recommenda
tions,” National Farmers President
Gene Paul emphasized.
The GAO review found that
procedures need to be more con
sistent and reliable to prevent
safety risks caused by foods
brought in from outside the U.S.
GAO recommended that FDA
receive greater authority to require
countries to have food safety sys
tems equivalent to that in the U.S.
before their foods would be im
ported. “At National Farmers'we
have long-supported equal quality
standards for imported and do
mestic products to assure healthy
food for consumers," Paul said.
“If the U.S. provides countries
with better reasons to produce
food under the same high a better
economic and competitive situa
tion,” Paul said.
GAO also called for FDA and
the Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS) to better target in
spection resources on foods pos
ing greater health risks. Currently,
the agencies’ computer systems
are not designed to single out
those foods, but may more often
address issues not directly impact
ing consumer safety.
FSIS has jurisdiction over meat,
poultry and some egg products,
while FDA regulates all other
foods. Both agencies work closely
with the Customs Service and
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).