John Kirk, Dale Moore and Dennis Wilson

January 14, 2000

Once in a while, livestock owners receive a condemnation form from the FSIS meat inspector giving the reason that a market cow has been condemned. Some of the most common conditions leading to condemnation are extensive cancer eye and lymphoma and oth er conditions with signs of systemic spread of disease. Livestock owners frequently question their veterinarian when this happens because they did not expect the cow to be "tanked" and think they have sent other cows no worse than this one in the past. T he purpose of this article is to provide information on common reasons for condemnation and suggest some ways to prevent cows from being condemned at slaughter.

The primary question that the meat inspector (Picture 1) must answer when considering condemning a cow is whether or not the disease is active and has spread beyond a local site. They have to decide if the lesion can be trimmed and the carcass passed for human food. If lesions are found throughout the carcass and internal organs indicating a systemic disease, the carcass and internal organs must be condemned because the meat is unsafe for human consumption. The inspector’s sole task is to protec t the human food supply.

Cancer eye is a common cause of condemnation in western herds. It is a good example to consider localization or systemic spread. In the early stages (Picture 2), the cancer is often localized to the third eye lid or the edges of the eyeball itself. Th e carcass of market cows with early cancer eye tumors localized to the eye region can be pass for human food once the head is removed and condemned. However, if it spreads beyond the eye (Picture 3) into other organs or involves the bones of the head, th e entire carcass will be condemned.

Malignant lymphoma, which is caused by Bovine Leukemia Virus, is an other common cause of condemnation. Malignant lymphoma affects primarily the lymph nodes. When the nodes are located on the outside of the body (Picture 4), they can easily be detecte d before the animal is shipped to market. The livestock owner should know that cows with these Malignant Lymphoma lesions would be condemned at slaughter. However, many times the enlarged lymph nodes are within the body and not visible (Picture 5). Commo n locations are the abomasum and uterus. Cows with abomasal involvement may show a variety of clinical signs related to the GI tract. The veterinarian sometimes finds uterine lesions during routine reproductive examination. During the examination of the internal organs by the meat inspector, these unseen lymph node lesions will be discovered. Market cows with these lesions will be condemned.

On other occasions, the specific cause of the disease is not known despite finding acute, generalized signs of disease. Cows with active, generalized signs of disease involving more than one organ will be condemned for food safety reasons even though no specific cause of the disease is determined. The inspector might call the condition septicemia, toxemia or pyemia. Septicemia is the invasion of the blood stream by microorganisms, like bacteria, spreading from a focal infection site. Septicemia is of ten referred to as blood poisoning. Toxemia means the presence of toxic substances in the blood stream. Toxemia is often the result of bacterial toxins being shed into the blood from a focal infection site. And pyemia is a form of septicemia with multipl e abscesses and secondary signs of toxemia. In most cases, toxemia is the result from growth of pus-forming bacteria. The key point is that in each case, the disease has spread beyond local lesions to other parts of the body.

In some cases it is possible to get a hint that a generalized disease is present by an examination of the cow prior to slaughter. This is called antemortem inspection. Some suggestive findings are:

1. Very high or abnormally low temperature (normal 101.5 F)
2. Downer or severely depressed cow
3. Evidence of severe pain
4. Tremors of the muscles
5. Difficult or labored breathing
6. Reddening of gums or around the eyes

When these conditions are observed on the dairy, consult your veterinarian for advice on whether or not to ship the cows for human food.

Prior to slaughter or antemortem, the meat inspector examines all the market cows presented for slaughter. Cows severely affected with any of these conditions may be condemned at this time. Others are marked for close inspection after death.

After the cow is slaughtered or postmortem, the meat inspectors will closely examine the carcass and internal organs for signs of disease (Picture 1). The meat inspector would market cows due to findings such as:

1. Scattered hemorrhages or blood clotting problems
2. Bloody fluids in the chest or abdominal cavity
3. Generalized edema or swelling of tissues
4. Generalized swelling of the lymph nodes
5. Infected wounds
6. Extensive lesions of pneumonia, diarrhea, mastitis or hardware disease.

Keeping these reasons for condemnation in mind, there are strategies that dairymen can use to reduce the risk of having a market dairy cow condemned at slaughter. Dairymen should work closely with their veterinarians to develop a herd health program. The program should define the treatment protocols to be used on the dairy. A key to successful treatment is early detection of disease and following through to the end of the treatment period even when the may cow look better. Marketing decisions for sic k cows should be made quickly before antibiotic treatment and before the sickness results in extension beyond the initial localized lesions. Cows that have been sick for several days and appear to be getting worse, should not be sent to slaughter. Animal s that seem destined to die, should be humanely euthanized on the dairy and rendered. Sick cows are not suitable for human food. The acid test – would you and your family eat hamburgers from this sick cow. If you would, then the cow can be sent to s laughter. If not, the cow should be rendered.

In summary, the most common causes of condemnation of market dairy cows are cancer eye, lymphoma and generalized spread of disease beyond a single location in the body. Food safety inspectors examine market cows at the slaughterhouse both before and a fter slaughter. Cows are condemned when the inspector observes lesions that indicate the meat will not be suitable for human food. Dairymen can reduce the risk of having a market cow condemned by working with their veterinarians to develop a treatment pl an that insures early detection and thorough treatment. Very sick cows that seem destined to die should not be shipped to the slaughterhouse for entry into the human food chain.

Picture 1. Meat inspector examining carcass and organs for signs of disease that would make the processed meat product unsafe for human consumption.

Picture 2. Early stage of cancer eye on the third eyelid of a cow.

Picture 3. Cancer eye tumor that had spread from the eye to bones and tissues beyond a localized stage.

Picture 4. Swollen lymph node due to Malignant Lymphoma on the outside of a dairy cow.

Picture 5. Malignant lymphoma tumors on the heart.

Picture 6. Organs and tissues showing systemic signs of disease that would result in condemnation of the carcass for food safety reasons. Upper picture shows excessive fluid around the heart. Lower picture shows extensive hemorrhage on the intestine.< /P>

Picture 7. Market dairy cows going up loading chute into truck on their way to the slaughterhouse to become human food.