Cedar Rapids wild geese meat qualifies for donation, but not for sale

CEDAR RAPIDS - Wild Canada geese rendered into 1-pound portions of ground meat following a city and state-led round up earlier this week is safe to be donated to the needy but would not qualify to be sold, officials said.

Cedar Rapids and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources spearheaded the capture Monday of 161 adult geese and gander, seen by some as a nuisance, from along the Cedar River. The goose meat is being donated, so it falls into a category similar to wild game and governed by the 'custom exempt” process, according to a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

'Custom exempt” meat isn't inspected and the process is 'less stringent” than for meat to be sold, said Dustin Vande Hoef, a spokesman for the state agriculture department.

'It's not the same level of inspection as if it is for sale,” Vande Hoef said. 'It's a different level of scrutiny.”

The 'custom” meat product is allowed only for 'exclusive use in the producers' household,” according to rules publicized by the Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau, a division of the ag department. It must be labeled 'not for sale,” or 'poultry exempt,” according to the bureau.

Vande Hoef and Kevin Baskins, an Iowa DNR spokesman, said the process for the geese is very similar to the state's 14-year-old Help Us Stop Hunger program, a 'cooperative effort among Iowa deer hunters, the Food Bank of Iowa, meat processors and the Iowa DNR” to control the deer population and 'provide high-quality protein to needy Iowa citizens,” the DNR website shows.

One difference is deer are red meat and geese are poultry, and their processing is licensed differently in Iowa.

Newhall Locker and Processing handled the slaughter and processing of the Cedar Rapids geese.

As a licensed facility, the Newhall Locker is inspected by the state and its processes are regulated by the state, Vande Hoef said.

The Newhall Locker has a '1ACB” license, which allows 'red meat slaughter and processing” and producing products 'with a mark of inspection for further resale.” The Newhall plant, which did not return numerous calls this week seeking comment, does not have a 'OP1A” license. This is the state license that allows poultry processing and marks of inspection.

Vande Hoef said Newhall does not have a poultry license. But under the 'custom exempt” guidelines and because the meat is being donated, the plant was allowed to process the geese.

This explanation differs from the rules for 'custom plants” stated on the agency website. They say official plants may process uninspected red meat, as long as it is kept apart from inspected meat, but 'may not process uninspected poultry.”

When asked for clarification, Vande Hoef said 'this is outside of our licensing and inspection process” and that the program is under Iowa DNR authority.

Jim Dickson, a professor specializing in food safety in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University, said rules governing red meat were established more than 100 years ago, while rules for poultry were established in the late 1950s.

While there are minor differences in the processes, the time gap is the main reason for different rules. Dickson said he doesn't foresee food safety concerns beyond those of any other meat people consume.

'The food safety issues probably wouldn't be any different from ground turkey you buy in the store,” Dickson said. 'There's nothing more or less hazardous. I would look at it like any other raw meat. As long as people cook it properly, it doesn't need anything beyond that.”

He added, 'This seems like a worthwhile use. ... It seems like a shame to not utilize it.”

Baskins said the Iowa DNR provided Cedar Rapids with locker suggestions upon request but 'it's up to the city to determine where they get processed.” He said the Newhall plant came up because it participates in the HUSH program and because of its proximity to Cedar Rapids.

A Cedar Rapids official said Iowa DNR contacted Newhall and made arrangements, although Cedar Rapids completed the process and considers the Newhall Locker properly licensed and the meat safe.

'It's considered a safe and licensed facility, no different from the HUSH program, which takes deer meat and gives it to low-income individuals,” said Daniel Gibbins, Cedar Rapids parks superintendent who helped oversee the program. 'Just because the meat isn't tested doesn't mean the meat isn't healthy.”

Gibbins said geese are grazers that feed on vegetation and smaller invertebrate. They don't bioaccumulate pesticides or other toxins similar to fish, which are emersed in water that flows through their gills and bodies, or eagles that feed on fish, he said. Goose meat would not be subject to consumption limits, which have been assigned to fish at times, he said.

The Hawkeye Area Community Action Program expected to pick up the goose meat Friday, store it in a freezer and have it available for food pantries in the agency's seven-county service area to pick up on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Monday, said Linda Gorkow, director of the Food Reservoir.

'A good source of protein is always needed in this area,” she said.

Some patrons at the Linn Community Food Bank, 310 Fifth St. SE, were a little skeptical about the goose meat.

'Honestly, I don't think it's smart because I don't know what kind of diseases they have or anything like that,” said Malinda McDermott, 40, of Cedar Rapids. 'They need to think of another solution than killing them and feeding them to people.”

Mary Uthe, volunteer coordinator at the food bank, said it would consider distributing the meat and it has confidence anything from HACAP is 'good and safe.”

Chef Dave Dettman, a retired culinary arts instructor at Kirkwood Community College, said in an email that goose, and especially wild goose, tends to be tough. He recommended cooking the meat to more than 170 degrees over six to 10 hours in a slow cooker with stock, aromatics such as thyme, rosemary, parsley, garlic, celery, carrots and onions and a seasoning of salt and pepper.

'If goose (is) cooked long enough, well over 170 degrees, (it) should kill bacteria and parasites,” he said. 'But, (it) will not remove toxins. That's why they need to be tested.”