TRYING TO KEEP "MAD COW DISEASE" OUT OF U.S. HERDS
March-April 2001
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
FDA Consumer magazine
Linda Bren
Millions of British television viewers watched the harrowing final dayso f
14-year-old Zoe Jeffries in October 2000. The ordeal of the young girlf rom
Manchester, England, began more than two years earlier. First she criedf or
two weeks, then came the
hallucinations and continuous screaming. As the disease progressed, thep ain
in her legs worsened until she couldn't walk.
Bedridden, her brain wasting away, she was reduced to communicating through
moans and grunts.
Zoe's mother, Helen Jeffries, let the television cameras into her home to
demonstrate the plight of people like her daughter--victims of new variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or nvCJD. The neurological illness is thoughtt o
be the human form of
bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE-commonly called "Mad Cow Disease."
The disease is thus far untreatable, incurable, and ultimately fatal.
"It's a bad disease," says Lawrence Schonberger, MD, MPH, an epidemiologist
at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "We believe that it
is transmitted by food that has been contaminated with the agent that causes
BSE. Every case of nvCJD
is a major tragedy." Although the incubation period after initial exposure
can be quite long, once clinical signs and symptoms begin, death usually
occurs within about a year.
The recent increase in reported cases of BSE in European cows and the
increasing number of human nvCJD cases in the United Kingdom have raised
fears throughout the European Union (EU) of the risk of eating beef possibly
contaminated with the BSE
agent. Although these concerns may have spread to the United States, the
diseases have not. No cases of nvCJD in humans or BSE in cows have everb een
identified in this country.
BSE and nvCJD have thus far been kept out of the United States largely
through the combined efforts of the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), the CDC, other federal organizations,a nd
state regulatory and health agencies. These organizations have taken
aggressive actions to reduce the risk that BSE could be introduced and
spread in this country.
BSE has infected more than 180,000 cattle in the UK and about 1,800 cattle
elsewhere in the EU, according to the European Commission's Health and
Consumer Protection Directorate, an agency of the EU. Because of UK actions
to eradicate BSE since it
was first identified in 1986, the number of BSE cases is falling sharplyi n
that country, but it is rising in a number of other European countries.
The sudden rise in reported BSE cases may, in part, reflect increased
testing to detect infected cattle by some EU member countries, particularly
France, according to Burt Pritchett, a veterinarian in FDA's Center for
Veterinary Medicine. "And because of
the long incubation period of BSE (two to eight years), cows being
identified with BSE now would have become infected several years ago,"s ays
Pritchett. "In December 2000, the EU imposed BSE testing EU-wide, whichw ill
likely further increase the number
of cases being reported."
How BSE Spreads Within Cattle Herds Evidence suggests that certain
contaminated cattle feed ingredients are the source of BSE infection in
cattle. The process that
leads to the contaminated feed starts when livestock already harboringt he
BSE agent are slaughtered. After cows and sheep are killed, the ediblep arts
are removed. The inedible remnants are taken to a special plant, wheret hey
undergo a process called
"rendering." This process creates two major products: fat, which is usedi n
an amazing array of products (such as soap, lipstick, linoleum, and glue),
and meat-and-bone meal (MBM), a powdery, high-protein supplement that is
often processed into animal feed.
Although the animal remnants are "cooked" at high temperatures during the
rendering process, the BSE agent, if present, is able to survive.
When this contaminated MBM is fed to cattle as a protein supplement, theB SE
agent can be passed on to many new cattle. It is believed that this ish ow
BSE was spread through the UK cattle herds.
In 1997, scientists at the Institute for Animal Health in Edinburgh,
Scotland, and the Imperial College School of Medicine in London presented
studies that strongly pointed to the agent that causes BSE as the most
likely cause of human nvCJD. The UK
government concluded that victims of nvCJD most likely acquired the disease
by consuming food that had been made from cattle infected with BSE.
Although BSE and nvCJD occur in different species, they both belong to a
family of fatal neurological diseases known as transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies (TSEs), so named because of the sponge-like holes they
leave in the brain. Currently,
no test can reliably detect BSE in live cattle or nvCJD in live humans. A
diagnosis is confirmed by examining brain tissue after death. The agentt hat
causes TSEs is not well understood. The prevailing theory of the scientific
community is that the agent is a
"prion," an abnormal, slowly replicating protein.
"So little is known about prion diseases," says James Voss, DVM, of the
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State
University. "It's a very difficult area to study because of the long
incubation period of these diseases," says
Voss, who is also the co-chairman of the TSE Task Force of the Councilf or
Agricultural Science and Technology, a nonprofit research consortium. "We
believe the risk is very, very low that BSE could gain entry to this
country, but no one can say with 100
percent certainty that it won't happen."
"We know that our cattle are not immune to this disease just because they
live on this side of the Atlantic Ocean," says Murray Lumpkin, senior
medical advisor in FDA's Office of the Commissioner. "Renderers, cattle
ranchers, feed manufacturers, feed lot
operators, and state and federal government agencies will all have to
continue to work together vigilantly to assure safe cattle-feeding practices
are scrupulously followed. This is our first line of defense against the
disease getting into American cattle
herds."
Other TSEs are known to occur in sheep, mink, deer, elk, and cats. The
recent European outbreak of BSE may have originally resulted from feeding
cattle with MBM-supplemented feed made from sheep carcasses infected with
scrapie--a TSE found in
sheep and goats.
Unlike BSE, other animal TSEs do not appear to be naturally transmittedt o
humans, according to an October 2000 report of the TSE Task Force. However,
five TSEs do occur in humans--all of them rare. In 1957, scientists first
recorded a human TSE, called
kuru, in the Fore natives of the New Guinea highlands. The Fores were
cannibals--they ate parts of their fellow humans, especially brain tissue.
It is believed this practice contributed to further spread of kuru in the
population.
Two Forms of CJD
Another human TSE, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, in its classic form, occurs
worldwide at a rate of approximately one case per 1 million people pery ear.
Classic CJD, unlike its new variant, nvCJD, is not known to be caused by
consuming food made from cows
infected with BSE.
"CJD and nvCJD are best thought of as two different diseases," says CDC's
Schonberger. "CJD was around long before the emergence of BSE in cattle."
Victims of classic CJD and nvCJD may share some symptoms, but the patterns
of the brain lesions are distinct. To date, nvCJD has caused disease in
younger patients, and the mean duration of illness is more prolonged. (The
average age for death of
nvCJD has been 27.5 versus 68 for CJD, and the average time to death after
the onset of clinical symptoms is 13 months for nvCJD versus less thans ix
months for CJD.)
As of Feb. 2, 2001, a total of 94 cases of nvCJD have been confirmed or
suspected in the UK, according to the UK Department of Health. Three cases
in France and one in Ireland were reported by the European Commission's
Health and Consumer Protection
Directorate.
The U.S. Response
The focus for American animal and human health officials has been
prevention. "Using the best science known at this time, the United States
has an aggressive, multi-faceted program in place to try to prevent the
establishment and spread of BSE," says
Stephen Sundlof, DVM, PhD, director of FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine.
FDA's restrictions on certain cattle feed ingredients and its import alerts
on cattle products are critical parts of this program. In addition, USDAh as
prohibited certain animals and
animal products from entering the country. Since 1989, USDA's Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has banned the import of live
ruminants (cattle, sheep,
and goats) and most ruminant products from countries where BSE has been
reported. In addition, in 1990, APHIS began a program of active surveillance
of certain American cows for evidence of BSE. While FDA inspects feed
production facilities, the
USDA surveillance program condemns and tests any cows displaying signs of
neurological problems at slaughter. As of October 2000, approximately 12,000
cattle brains from nearly every state and Puerto Rico had been examined,
with no evidence of BSE
found. More than 60 diagnostic laboratories continue to examine hundredso f
cattle brains each year.
In August 1997, FDA established a regulation that prohibits the use ofm ost
mammalian protein in the manufacture of animal feeds for ruminants. Witht he
strong support of renderers, cattle owners, feed manufacturers, and feedl ot
owners, FDA launched a
compliance and education program, including a rigorous inspection program.
The goal of these efforts is to achieve as close to 100 percent compliance
with this new regulation as possible. FDA and state regulators have
conducted nearly 10,000 inspections
of renderers, feed mills, ruminant feeders, dairy farms, protein blenders,
feed haulers, and distributors since January 1998. More than three-quarters
of these establishments were found to be in compliance. And most of the
establishments that initially had
problems were found in compliance upon re-inspection. Education is alsoa n
extremely important part of the compliance program. "We've put a lot of
effort into getting the word out about
the regulation," says Sundlof. FDA has sponsored workshops for state
veterinarians and feed control officials from all 50 states, Puerto Rico,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada. In addition, FDA has held briefing
sessions with trade associations and
consumer groups, and has developed additional guidances for complying with
the regulation.
FDA is continuing its compliance efforts by conducting additional
inspections and re-inspecting non-compliant facilities. Based on an
evaluation of the inspections conducted from 1998 through 2000, FDA will
revise its compliance strategy to try to assure its
goal of 100 percent adherence to the feeding regulations.
FDA and USDA recently took emergency action to prevent potentially
cross-contaminated products from entering the United States. On December7 ,
2000, APHIS banned all imports of rendered animal proteins, regardless of
species, from the more than
30 countries that either are known to have BSE in their cattle or otherwise
present undue risk for introducing BSE into the United States. FDA hasa lso
announced an import alert, allowing its inspectors to detain shipmentsf rom
these countries of animal feed
(including pet food), animal feed ingredients, and certain other products of
animal origin intended for animal use.
FDA and USDA will continue to aggressively enforce their regulations andt o
work closely with those in the cattle and feed industries to minimize the
risk of BSE introduction or spread in U.S. cattle herds. FDA will develop
new guidances and regulations
as the scientific knowledge about BSE expands. Working together with many
counterpart agencies in the United States and around the world and with
various industry and consumer groups, FDA will continue to do its best to
protect the health of Americans and of our American cattle herds.
FDA OFFICIAL CONCERNED THAT SUPPLEMENTS COULD CONTAIN
CONTAMINATED CATTLE PARTS
March 30, 2001
BNA's Food Safety Report at
http://www.bna.com/products/ens/fsr.htm
SAN FRANCISCO--Central nervous system tissue from cattle that have madc ow
disease may already have entered the U.S. food supply via dietary
supplements, a senior Food and Drug Administration official said March2 5.
Michael Bolger, risk assessment division chief of FDA's Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition, told BNA March 25 that he is concerned because
there is "no way" for FDA to know the source of central nervous system
tissue used in supplements.
"If it's U.S. beef, that's fine," he said. "If it's
European, that could present a problem." Bolger was referring to the concern
that central nervous system tissue from cows with bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, a brain
wasting disease commonly called "mad cow disease," could spread the human
variant of that illness, known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. "I've been
worried for two years," he said, referring to some of the first reportso f
mad cow disease spreading in Europe.
Bolger discussed the issue with BNA after he spoke about dietary supplements
at the Society of Toxicology's annual meeting. His comments followed the
issuance of industry guidance on this topic.
The National Nutritional Foods Association, which represents the dietary
supplements industry, issued guidance March 19 encouraging manufacturerst o
eliminate all neurological tissue from cattle in their products. About2 00
dietary
supplements, 0.5 percent of the total U.S. market, potentially containc ow
brains or spinal cord tissue, according to the association.
Not all supplements pose a potential risk, Bolger said, only those madew ith
animal products such as melatonin or products containing gelatin. Duringt he
past two years, U.S.
manufacturers have imported a lot of gelatin from France, which was thought
to be free of mad cow disease, he said. During his presentation to the
Society of Toxicology, Bolger discussed the limits FDA faces as it triest o
protect the public from dangerous ingredients in dietary supplements.
Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act > (DSHEA) of 1994,
supplements are presumed safe unless FDA > can prove otherwise. It is
extremely difficult for FDA to > prove a supplement to be dangerousb ecause
the United States > has what Bolger described as a "passive" reporting
system.
Under this system, adverse effects are seldom detected, Bolger told the
audience. Detecting them requires that a person feeling ill see a doctor,
and that the doctor ask the patient whether he or she is taking supplements
or conduct blood or other tests for that possibility, he said followingh is
presentation.
This passive reporting system also requires that a doctor or health care
provider who has determined that a health problem was caused by a supplement
to report that to federal authorities, he said. It is rare that such ac hain
of events occurs, Bolger said. Medical professionals are seldom taughta bout
nutrition, let alone the risks of dietary supplements, he said.
Bolger and another speaker, Joseph Borzelleca, a retired professor fromt he
Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, said they are concerned that FDA
will not be given sufficient authority to ensure public health is protected
until some type of calamity occurs.
MAD COW VIRUS IN AUSTRALIANS, SAYS TOP DOCTOR
April 4, 2001
Sydney Morning Herald
Mark Metherell
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0104/03/national/national9.html
The Commonwealth's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dick Smallwood wasc ited
as saying that the fatal human form of mad cow disease would almost
certainly have infected a few Australians, and that the statistical
likelihood was that in the next few years there would be cases in Australia
of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
The deadly brain disease would be already incubating in people who had
lived in Britain when vCJD was believed to have spread, between 1980
and 1996.
Professor Smallwood was cited as saying that about 900,000 people in
Australia lived in Britain for six months or more during those years.
How many ended up contracting vCJD would depend on how widespread
the disease was in Britain. So far there have been 94 deaths from the
disease, and estimates of the eventual toll range up to 136,000.
Professor Smallwood was further cited as saying that a communicable diseases
control conference in Canberra yesterday heard about the latest British
research on vCJD, which cautioned against fuelling public anxiety by relying
on worst-case scenarios.
It would take another two or three years before scientists could
confidently estimate about how many people were likely to be affected, he
said.
SENSATIONALIST' BSE STORY IRKS U.S. CATTLEMEN
April 2, 2001
Ontario Farmer
http://207.229.10.88/ontariofarmer/
Cattle producers in Kansas are angry at the CBS network for the way a 60
Minutes II news segment portrayed BSE.
An article on the AgWeb site says farmers belonging to the Kansas Livestock
Association (KLA) have contacted the station to protest, saying the network
did a disservice to both producers and the American public by taking the
sensationalist, emotional approach to a disease that has never
existed in the U.S. Farmers said the show should have told viewers theU .S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the chances of Europeans
acquiring new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (nvCJD)
are fewer than one case per 10 billion beef servings, if a risk exists at
all.
That's the risk in Europe, where BSE and nvCJD have been diagnosed. But
neither are now present in the U.S., the farmers pointed out.
SENATE HEARING ON "MAD COW" DISEASE SET FOR APRIL 4
April 3, 2001
IFT Daily
http://www.ift.org/resource/news/
U.S. Senator Pete Fitzgerald , Chairman of the Senate Commerce subcommittee
on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce, and Tourism, announced a hearingo n
Mad Cow Disease and meat safety. The
hearing is set for Wednesday, April 4, at 9:30 a.m. in room 253 of the
Russell Senate Office Bldg. The subcommittee has invited federal regulators,
meat industry representatives, scientists, and others to testify.
Panel members will discuss the adequacy of existing federal protections
against the disease and what threat, if any, the livestock disease posest o
food safety in the U.S.
COUNTRIES ADDED TO MAD COW RISK LIST
April 3, 2001
Associated Press/Reuters
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- A European Union scientific committee report released
Monday was cited as saying that mad cow disease likely exists in Poland,
Hungary, Slovakia and five other countries because of imports of possibly
infected live cattle and byproducts.
The report also added Albania, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia and
Lithuania to countries whose cattle herds could be harboring bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
The report was cited as saying that most Eastern and Central European
countries were placed on "at risk" list because of their "significant
amounts" of imported live cattle and meat-and-bone meal from EU countries
that suffer from mad cow disease.
The Czech Republic protested to the European Commission on Tuesday forb eing
included in a list of countries "likely to present a BSE risk" despite no
reported cases of mad cow disease in the country.
The State Veterinary Authority said it and the agriculture ministry hads ent
letters to the Commission demanding to be bumped up one level to join states
considered to be a low risk.
CONSUMER BRIEFING ON BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY (BSE)
AND
TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES (TSE)
April 3, 2001
Federal Register (Volume 66, Number 64)
[Page 17719]
[DOCID:fr03ap01-64]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the following consumer
meeting: Consumer Briefing on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE). This briefing is the first
in a series of consumer briefings on the consumer protection priorities
discussed by the agency and consumers at the December 13, 2000, Consumer
Roundtable on Consumer Protection Priorities meeting. These consumer
briefings enable the agency and consumers to sustain a dialogue on FDA
priorities of high consumer interest in the spirit of openness,
transparency, and participation. This consumer briefing will provide an
update on FDA's efforts to ensure the safety of products that may contain or
are manufactured with bovine-derived ingredients.
Date and Time: The briefing will be held on April 16, 2001, 1 p.m. to 4:30
p.m. Registration will open at 12 noon.
Location: The briefing will be held at Holiday Inn Capitol, Columbia II,5 50
C St., SW., Washington, DC.
Contact: Karen R. Mahoney, Office of Consumer Affairs (HFE-88), Food and
Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-4393,
FAX 301-827-2866, e-mail: Kmahoney@oc.fda.gov.
Registration: Preregistration is required as space is very limited. Send
registration information (including name, title, organization/firm name,
address, telephone, fax number and e-mail) to the contact person by April
13, 2001. Preregistered consumer attendees will be given first priorityf or
seating.
If you need any special accommodations due to disability, please contact
Karen R. Mahoney (address above) by April 13, 2001.
Transcripts: Transcripts of the meeting may be requested in writing fromt he
Freedom of Information Office (HFI-35), Food and Drug Administration, 5600
Fishers Lane, rm. 12A-16, Rockville, MD 20857, approximately 15 workingd ays
after the meeting at a cost of 10 cents a page.
MAD COW DISEASE COULD BE IN CANADIAN FOOD CHAIN: HEALTH
CANADA
April 1, 2001
CP
http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Mad-Cow.html
VANCOUVER -- Mad cow disease could, according to an internal report prepared
for Health Canada, be silently lurking in the Canadian food chain despite
claims that Canada is BSE-free, .
But other experts were cited as saying the hysteria over Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy is overblown, considering how little is known about the
disease.
Mick Price, a professor of livestock growth and meat production at the
University of Alberta, was quoted as saying, "This is just not one of the
risks that we're facing at the moment."
According to the draft report prepared last summer for Health Canada, the
story says that it is reasonable to classify Canada's risk as low because no
cases have emerged and because of actions taken to prevent the spread oft he
disease from the U.K..
But the assessment, written by Joan Orr and Mary Ellen Starodub and obtained
under the access to information law, was cited as finding that the risk
cannot be ruled out.
The story says that the report is still being reviewed by Health Canadaa nd
has not been made public.
There is evidence the disease can incubate for up to eight years.
Penny Greenwood, policy co-ordinator of transmissable spongiform
encephalopathy for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, was quoted as saying
testing is "not done on a set frequency, but we collect samples throughout
the year."
The agency has had a BSE surveillance program in place since 1992.
The number of non-symptomatic animals tested annually varies from province
to province and national figures were not available.
"We are currently augmenting that aspect of our surveillance program,"
Greenwood said. Such testing is voluntary.
But she said Canada cannot be compared to European countries. Europe is
testing to screen the disease from the food chain.
"Europe has the disease. We do not," she said.
"Testing cannot never prove you don't have the disease. What it can do is
give you an idea of the risk."
And the risk in Canada is negligible, she said.
Yet the Health Canada report identifies many routes BSE could have takent o
Canada.
Vaccine and hormone preparations have been suggested as possible modes of
transmission.
Bovine hormones are commonly used in cattle to promote growth and enhance
fertility.
Vaccines and hormones were imported from the U.K. and other BSE-infected
countries in 1992 and 1999, according to the report.
But the greatest risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob infection in Canadians is
from British beef products imported at the height of the epidemic, including
baby food, according to the report.
April 2, 2001
LA Times
PHIL LEMPERT
http://www.latimes.com/health/nutrition/before/20010402/t000028166.html
Question: I've heard that kosher and organic meats are at less risk form ad
cow
disease. Is that true?
Kathy Rosa
Answer: According to this story, there is probably no difference in ther isk
of contracting diseases, including mad cow disease (formally known as bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE), in kosher meats. The cows used for
kosher meat are from the same herds; the differences are in the
slaughtering, sanitation and inspection processes, according to Rabbi
Menachem Genack of the Orthodox Union in New York.
Federal rules for organic food products require producers of organic
livestock to
feed their herds a "total feed ration composed of agricultural products
including
pasture and foliage." The regulations prohibit the feeding of mammaliano r
poultry slaughter byproducts to livestock because such products have been
linked to BSE in Europe. It's worth noting that the Food and Drug
Administration banned the feeding of mammalian meat and bone meal to all
U.S. cattle, sheep and goats in 1997
POLAND REJECTS EU SUGGESTION OF BSE RISK
April 4, 2001
The MEATing Place
Joshua Lipsky
Sound bite: ³Including Poland in the same group of nations where mad cow
disease is present is scandalous and is a case of utmost dishonesty ont he
part of Brussels.² Artur Balazs, Poland's agriculture minister
A European Union assessment that included Poland among those countriesw here
bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, is present was
described as ³scandalous² by Poland's agriculture minister in an interview
published yesterday in the Gazeta Wyborcza Daily.
³This is a political decision related to trade,² said Artur Balazs,P oland's
agriculture minister.
³Including Poland in the same group of nations where mad cow disease is
present is scandalous and is a case of utmost dishonesty on the part of
Brussels.²
On Monday, April 2, a EU scientific panel said the disease was likely
present in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and five other countries. The EU also
cited Switzerland, which has long confirmed that this disease was present.
Balazs and other Polish officials insist that Poland is free of BSE, and
they maintain that the European Union wants to protect its own market
against Polish exports.
The EU reported that Eastern and Central European countries were placedo n
the ³at risk² list due to ³significant amounts² of imported live cattle and
meat-and-bone meal from EU countries where the disease has been detected.
Poland, which has banned bone meal imports since 1999, says it never used
the meal for feeding cattle.
EXPERTS: MAD COW RISK VERY LOW
April 4, 2001
AP
WASHINGTON -- Richard Johnson, a special adviser to the National Institutes
of Health on mad-cow and related diseases was cited as telling the U.S.
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Wed. that travelers
to Europe are at little risk of catching mad-cow disease, given the
precautions that have been put in place and the relatively few illnesses
reported, adding, "The danger of driving to the airport is greater than
eating meat in Europe. It's much safer now to eat beef in Britain, although
I've eaten beef in Britain throughout this thing."
William Hueston, a mad-cow expert at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College
of Veterinary Medicine, was quoted as saying, "The likelihood of BSE isv ery
low. It is not zero."
UNITED STATES IS WELL POSITIONED TO PREVENT BSE, MEAT SCIENTIST
SAYS THE
U.S. IS NOT EUROPE; POLICIES MUST REFLECT THIS FACT
April 4, 2001
American Meat Institute Press Release
Washington, DC, - The U.S. is well positioned to continue to prevent bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in U.S. cattle herds, according to American
Meat Institute Foundation President Jim Hodges. Policymakers must recognize
this fact in setting policy and reject the hysteria that has swept Europe,
he said.
Hodges made his statement in testimony today before the Senate Commerce,
Science and Transportation Committee's Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs,
Foreign Commerce and Tourism. He underscored the fact that the U.S. is in
the advantageous position of preventing a disease that has not occurred
here, while Europe must seek to control a disease that has already swepti ts
cattle population.
"The British problem - now shared by 12 other European nations - has
provided strong incentive for the U.S. government and U.S. beef industry
to take aggressive actions to prevent this devastating animal disease in
U.S. herds," Hodges said. "In fact, we took action so early that some
people now seem to question why we aren't announcing major new efforts
today.
The answer: we took swift, science-based actions early on that
have protected our livestock and given us the coveted distinction of
being a BSE-free nation."
Hodges described the U.S. approach to BSE prevention as a "triple firewall"
strategy. Because BSE is not present in U.S. herds, the first critical
firewall in protecting U.S. cattle involves protecting U.S. borders. As
early as 1989, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) banned the import
of cattle and beef from countries with BSE.
The second critical firewall involves careful surveillance. Veterinarians
are present at every U.S. meat packing plant and check cattle for signso f
any disease - including BSE. No animal can be processed for meat without
inspection. Additionally, USDA routinely conducts laboratory tests forB SE.
For a country in which BSE is not endemic - has never been detected int he
native cattle population - the U.S. has one of the most statistically sound
and comprehensive surveillance programs in the world. Of the roughly 12,000
animals tested for BSE by the U.S. government, none have been positive.
Hodges said the third critical firewall involves controlling what cattlea re
fed. Evidence indicates that BSE may have been spread in the U.K. and Europe
by contaminated feed. Even though the U.S. has no BSE in cattle, the
feeding of any protein derived from ruminant animals (cow, sheep, goat or
deer) to cattle has been prohibited in this country.
According to Hodges, there is a growing trend within the beef industry to
require certification from producers that cattle have met all Food andD rug
Administration (FDA) requirements. AMI has provided its members with model
certification language and the Institute understands it is beginning tob e
widely used, he said.
"Taken together, these efforts provide the best possible assurance thatU .S.
cattle will remain BSE-free and that U.S. consumers will not be exposedt o
any related health risks," Hodges said.
"While our media have begun to mirror British tabloid coverage of BSE,o ur
cattle herds are, and will remain, very different from those in the U.K.
and Europe. Our policies must reflect these differences and be supportedb y
the best available science lest we head down the slippery slope of creating
our own hysteria."