January 15, 2004 The Daily News Leader (Staunton, VA) by Bonnie Naumann

But there's no telling what's inside manufactured products like Slim Jims, ballpark franks and potted meat.

"I wouldn't eat those things, because I don't know what went into them," said Christine Bradley as she ground sausage at Mullins Slaughterhouse in Augusta County recently.

The fatty, gristly scraps and hooves that are sawed off cows at places like Mullins Slaughterhouse go to rendering plants. There, they are processed into products like hot dogs, sausage, jerky and canned meat.

"To be honest, if I weren't going to eat something right now it would be hot dogs," said Clay Hewitt, Staunton Union Stockyard president and general manager. Hewitt was one of many Augusta County farmers, butchers and meat inspectors who said they avoid processed meats.

Staunton resident Robert Morrison's family has a few acres with some beef cattle. As he browsed Food Lion's meat case on Tuesday, Morrison said his only concern was price.

"When I want a steak, I'll eat a steak," Morrison said. "I'm not planning on eating the brain or spinal cord anytime soon."

Good meat, bad meat

Muscle cuts such as steak and roasts have so far not tested positive for the disease, according to scientist Bo Reagan of the National Cattleman's Beef Association.

The brain, spinal cord and central nervous tissues are named as the primary carriers of mad cow disease. They could make it into processed meat because federal rules allow cow blood, bones, heads, hooves and thick slabs of fat to be made into human food.

That can be a frightening proposition.

Local butcher Jimmy Mullins hopes the things he cuts off beef carcasses are put into dog food or fertilizer.

"I don't give anything to my customers that I wouldn't want to eat myself," he said as he cut and wrapped steaks, spare ribs, a heart and liver. "But the rendering plant takes the things we can't use like the head, feet, intestines and lungs."

He tossed all the parts he called inedible into blue trash cans he'll sell to plants run by Valley Protein in Winchester.

Valley Protein was unavailable for comment.

According to the Department of Environmental Equality Web site, ingredients like those Mullins trashed will be slow cooked in large vats until they become so dehydrated that the protein parts separate from the fats. The result will be a grainy, semi-moist substance that looks like freeze-dried coffee.

This substance can be used in manufactured meat like hot dogs, in fertilizer or dog food.

Staunton resident Mark Deaton talked about some of those processed meats during an interview Tuesday at the grocery store.

He was shopping for turkey burgers - he's avoided red meat for years because he has high cholesterol.

But Deaton sells beef hot dogs from a cart in Charlottesville.

"If you come by for a hot dog," Deaton joked, "I can't guarantee there aren't brains in it."