DATE:     7/23/99
CONTACT:  Dr. Jones Bryan, (803) 788-2260
WRITER:   Tom Lollis, (803) 284-3343

Clemson Program Helps Protect Food Supply

     COLUMBIA -- Jason Bates picks up a sample of sausage fresh
off the processing line at Lee's Sausage plant near Orangeburg.
     "This will go to the lab in Columbia so it can be analyzed
for Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria," he said.
     The lab is the Veterinary Diagnostic Center (VDC) laboratory
operated by Clemson University's Livestock-Poultry Health
Division, and Bates works for the division's Meat and Poultry
Inspection Department, one of three departments headquartered at
the VDC. The Animal Health Programs and the Animal Diagnostic
Laboratory are also housed there.
     Bates is one of 60 inspectors who keep an eye on conditions
at 115 meat and poultry processing facilities in South Carolina
to make sure consumers purchase food products that are safe to
eat. He monitors temperatures in carcasses and processed meat to
make certain they stay cool enough to inhibit bacteria growth,
and sends carcass swabs to the lab for microbial analysis.
     "We deal with potential food safety hazards from the farm to
the table," said Jones W. Bryan, director of the
Livestock-Poultry Health Division. Efforts by division employees
and cooperation from private processors result in state-inspected
products that exceed federal standards.
     In addition to inspection and testing of meat and poultry
products, the division provides constant surveillance for
diseases that affect both people and animals and diagnostic
expertise for the treatment and elimination of domestic animal
diseases.
     "We have been part of programs that have eradicated
brucellosis and tuberculosis from cattle in South Carolina. In
the 1920s about a fourth of the tuberculosis cases in humans were
attributed to animal origin," he said.
     "We also screen for nervous system disorders such as BSE, or
mad cow disease. Fortunately we've never found a case of BSE," he
said.
     Jones said every egg producer in the state works with his
division to test for Salmonella enteritidis in an attempt to
prevent a foodborne illness outbreak.
     "This program looks at everything from the source of the
chickens to make sure they're free of Salmonella, to the source
of feed to make sure it has no Salmonella in it, and we work with
producers on such factors as rodent control and biosecurity -
controlling who enters the chicken house," he said.
     The VDC - a new $5.1 million facility dedicated in April -
supports 93 employees, including the 60 meat and poultry
inspectors, 14 laboratory specialists and 10 regulatory
personnel.
     "Counting myself we have five veterinarians on the lab
staff," said lab director Joe Hill. "Four of the veterinarians
are pathologists. We have one Ph.D. toxicologist and one
veterinary microbiologist."
     The lab performs a wide range of analyses - virology,
toxicology, bacterial isolation and identification, and food
microbiology.
     Hill said the new facility allows the laboratory to give
increased support to industries that export meat and poultry
products and must meet a variety of inspection requirements.
     Hill expects the laboratory to receive accreditation from
the American Association of Veterinary Diagnosticians by the end
of the year.
     The inspection program is appreciated by meat processors
such as Freddy Lee, manager of Lee's Sausage. Inspection helps
protect his business while protecting the consumer.
     "We don't want anybody getting sick from eating our
sausage," he said.
                         END