WESTERN PRODUCER — Food fraud is about as common as air molecules.
There’s olive oil that really isn’t olive oil.
There’s “honey” that’s made with rice syrup or other sugars.
And there is buffalo meat that isn’t bison.
Several years ago, a few companies were promoting water buffalo as bison in the United States, and the National Bison Association of America wants to put an end to that deception.
“Due to a regulatory loophole, water buffalo can be labeled simply as ‘buffalo’ under current FDA (Food and Drug Administration) policy, not ‘water buffalo,’” the bison association says. “(This) is clearly deceiving the consumer into thinking that they’re purchasing bison, or American buffalo, thereby threatening the food safety of bison meat.”
To close the loophole, the NBA is asking the U.S. Congress to pass a bill called the Truth in Buffalo Labelling Act.
“This bill makes absolutely certain that only bison products are labelled as buffalo and that any water buffalo products have their own specific label,” said Carol Miller, a member of the House of Representatives from West Virginia.
The NBA is hopeful the bill will make it through the House and Senate or is included in the next fam bill.
The issues with water buffalo being sold as bison first began in the dog food industry.
About six years ago, a pet food company in the U.S. was selling a product with a picture of a bison on the package.
But bison was a minor ingredient.
The first ingredient on the back of the bag was “buffalo.”
“What they were doing was substituting water buffalo, which is inexpensive and available globally … (for) bison … and promoting (the dog food) as bison,” said Jim Matheson, NBA executive director.
Water buffalo is a significant piece of the global protein industry. For example, India exports about US $4 billion per year in water buffalo meat, the Economist reported in 2017.
“Brazil (also) exports water buffalo.… There is a pretty big supply of water buffalo meat out there,” Matheson said.
Following the incident with water buffalo in pet food, an Australian company began selling “wild buffalo” meat at a supermarket chain on the U.S. East Coast.
As it turned out, the buffalo meat was not bison.
“That’s when we got really concerned and started talking to federal officials about this issue,” Matheson said.
The bison industry sorted out the labelling issues with pet food by working with the Association of American Feed Control Officials.
They changed their regulations and now say that water buffalo must be labelled as “water buffalo.” Bison can be labelled as American buffalo, American bison or bison.
However, the loophole for meat sold at grocery stores still exists.
That’s why the NBA continues to lobby American politicians for passage of the Truth in Buffalo Labelling Act.
Bison producers want to protect their market, but there’s also the issue of food safety.
If a water buffalo product made someone sick and there was a food recall, it represents a huge risk for the bison industry.
“It’s one of those vulnerabilities we’d rather have resolved (rather) than surprise us down the road and bite us,” Matheson said.
Looking beyond issues with labels, the American bison industry is enjoying a period of success.
Three bison processing plants have recently expanded — in North Dakota, Idaho and Colorado — and the supply of bison is tightening, which is driving up prices.
Those stronger prices help Canadian bison ranchers because a percentage of Canada’s herd is exported to the U.S. for feeding and slaughter.
“Between the three (plants), we have really expanded our processing capacity,” Matheson said. “(And) we’re expanding our market share here in the U.S.”
You can no longer count on social media to deliver important news to you. Keep your news a touch away by bookmarking SASKTODAY.ca's homepage at this link.
Here's why you should bookmark your favourites.
