Dong-A reporters denied entry at disease-hit rendering plant in CA

Dong-A Ilbo reporters were denied entrance to a rendering plant run by Baker Commodities in Hanford, California, after arriving there around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

Located at a site just several hundred meters away from a paved road, the building, which looked like a refrigerated warehouse, is where the sample of a dead dairy cow diagnosed with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, was taken. The carcasses of animals that died from disease or underwent euthanasia were rendered via high-temperature heat processing at this plant.

The reporters went past the parking lot and attempted to go through the entrance, only to be stopped by an employee, who cited no unauthorized entry because the site was private property. The staff member looked wary probably because of the discovery of the mad cow disease case.

The area had a foul stench. Though the rendering facilities were located far away from the entrance, the smell was carried by the wind.

About 30 minutes after the reporters` arrival, an inspection team from the Korean government entered the premises in two vans guided by officials of the U.S. Agriculture Department. After undergoing ID checks at the parking lot, the visitors got back into the vans and headed for the rendering facilities.

Baker Commodities has three of its 21 rendering plants in California. The company has two plants close to a dairy farming area near Fresno, California. Both plants are linked with the cow diagnosed with mad cow disease.

"We`ve confirmed that a brain sample from the cow was tested at a government lab in California and that the carcass was be kept at this plant until being buried at a different location after testing positive. We`ve also confirmed that cattle that are sent to rendering facilities are used not for food but for fertilizer or other purposes," said Joo I-seok, leader of the inspection team.

The inspection team plans to visit a slaughterhouse and feed plant Friday.

yhchoi65@donga.com nuk@donga.com