Comment from scarlett Doyle

The purpose of this letter is to encourage the FDA to include buffalo (bison) as an species that gets the same inspection treatment as beef; bison has mandatory inspection rather than beef which has voluntary inspection. Voluntary inspection costs about $55/hr. for USDA inspection and Mandatory inspection is provided by the government. Treat beef and bison the same. If beef enjoys ‘free’ USDA inspection, so should bison. If bison has to pay for USDA inspection, so should beef. Bison is low in fat, rich in iron and is a food which many families eat. It should be inspected right along with other terrestrial mammal meat products. The concern is that the high cost of USDA inspection takes this healthy meat off the table of the working family. The increased federal cost for inspecting bison could be offset by long-term benefits of healthier citizens - or by including a small federal cost to those meat producers that are already enjoying ‘free’ inspections. Here are the arguments for Mandatory Inspection and similar Federal treatment with beef: 1. According to the USDA, American Bison is considered exotic and a non-amenable species; however, it was the first native species in the United States to go on the endangered list. It is native and even found on the logo for US parks, Bison is used throughout the United States as a healthy source of meat. 2. If beef is added to bison ground meat, the USDA inspection falls under the Mandatory Inspection category. In the process of preserving the animal, the Federal government bred beef with bison, so genetically many bison already have beef DNA. Therefore, there is no need to add beef to it to have bison become eligible for Mandatory Inspection. 3. Why should ostrich enjoy the classification of an amenable species and have USDA Mandatory Inspection, but not bison. 4. Why does Rabbit have the classification of amenable species and have Mandatory inspection under the classification of POULTRY.