Maybe cow heads are a popular Mexican holiday fare.
Cubans have a roast pig.
Posted on 12/31/2003 2:00:49 PM PST by steve86
Meat laws give Latino stores a jolt
This story was published Wednesday, December 31st, 2003
By Mary Hopkin and Jeff St. John Herald staff writers
A large sign advertising whole cow heads for $20 greeted customers at The Valley's Market in Sunnyside this week.
The market sold about 40 of the heads before Christmas, but there hasn't been much demand since the Dec. 23 announcement that the first U.S. case of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, was confirmed in a cow from a dairy less than 20 miles away.
Cow heads are a popular Hispanic holiday fare.
The skinless heads, which have the brains intact, are traditionally wrapped in burlap bags, seasoned with onions, garlic and cilantro and roasted or steamed for hours, to make the Mexican specialty barbacoa.
"It's very good," said Travis Hamm, manager of the market's meat department.
Hamm said he normally doesn't keep the heads on hand but special orders them during the holidays to supply the large Hispanic population in the region.
Rob Martin, owner of the Sunnyside store, one in Pasco and another in Cashmere, said after the case of mad cow disease was reported, he received several calls from customers questioning where his beef is purchased.
"People are definitely concerned, and we immediately pulled everything off our shelves until we could determine where it came from," he said.
But consuming them could pose a slightly higher risk, he added.
"I'm not sure how much longer these ethnic foods will be available," he said. "We'll have to watch and see."
Crowder said the potential for humans to contract variant Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease is "incredibly low" even for those exposed by eating infected beef. He said the USDA ruling excluded cattle younger than 30 months from the "high-risk tissues" ban because they don't develop the disease.
But to those who eat beef, he warned, "I would advise caution."
And it appears people are doing just that, avoiding such traditional beef dishes, even in the Lower Valley where about 70 percent of residents are Hispanic.
The El Palenque Restaurant in Grandview is known for its barbacoa and menudo, but the popular Mexican holiday dishes weren't served much this Christmas.
"Nobody wants to eat beef because they are afraid of mad cow," said waitress Rosalinda Vargas.
A large tray of tripe is displayed behind glass at Jose Jimenez's spotless meat market counter in Sunnyside. Tripe is frequently used for menudo, a spicy soup that is boiled for hours with onions, garlic, hominy and red chilies. The USDA also has banned sale of small intestines.
Everybody is afraid, said Jimenez, owner of Carneceria Fin de Semana.
He previously was selling about $2,000 worth of beef daily. That has decreased to about $500, but he is selling more pork.
When his customers show concern, he said he tries to reassure them. Jimenez said he trusts that if something were wrong with the meat he was sold, authorities would come to his store and tell him.
But Tuesday's ban will affect only the meat going through slaughterhouses once the ruling is officially placed into the Federal Register, which could be a matter of days or several weeks. That leaves questions about those heads, brains and spinal cords already on shelves -- some in markets owned by people who speak little English.
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service officials vowed a "very aggressive educational campaign" for retailers, processors and consumers planned in Spanish and English. Ricardo Velazquez, a spokesman for the agency based in Washington, D.C., said there are inspectors at meat packing plants daily to share the information with clients.
Velazquez also said he could not imagine a federally inspected plant selling a cow head.
But Mike Menard, manager of Ray's Meats in Yakima, said he sells quite a few, especially during the holidays. The heads are purchased through wholesale brokers, who buy them from large beef producers, like Tyson, in Pasco.
Menard said the new regulations likely would not affect shops like his or consumers being able to purchase the heads, because they are from beef cattle generally slaughtered at about 24 months old, before BSE could develop.
Jimenez, who opened his meat market last June, said he believes his customers soon will be back buying beef. He said he isn't losing a lot of money, because he buys in small quantities three times a week to make sure he has good, fresh meat in his case.
"I don't want to have to put it in the freezer," he said.
"If you don't have good-looking meat, you don't have customers."
A second photo is captioned: "The menu at Tacos Axteca taco stand in Kennewick displays sesos, or beef brains, although owner Tony Patino said he hasn't carried the product for more than a year because of low demand.
A Greek holiday tradition, apparently, is skinned head of baby lamb.
It creeps me out to visit the meat counter where all these grinning, lipless baby lamb heads are staring at me. Made one of my sons cry when he was two.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.
I've never eaten cow's head, but I've eaten menudo. It's a traditional meal on New Year's Day--and also said to be good for a hangover.
Do they leave the eyes in the head or cook them seperately?
And you only mention the things you knew you were eating! ;-)
Seriously, you're making me hungry. I'd add raw clams and oysters to your list, sea urchin ovaries, boudin, pickled tripe...
But those sheep heads are creepy.
I think it's cause the eyes never blink and they ain't got no lips.
Reminds me of the horsehead scene in the Godfather.
Maybe cow heads are a popular Mexican holiday fare.
Cubans have a roast pig.
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