I usually stay to my own side (Grain) but you guys should be all over this. US rendition of Shoot, shovel and shut up.
Reuters:May 06/04
The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday noted a possible link between a condemned cow in Texas and eight-year-old animal feed that was not protected against mad cow disease.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday acknowledged it erred in failing to test a cow for the brain-wasting disease when it arrived at a south-central Texas slaughterhouse possibly exhibiting a central nervous system disorder.
While beef from the 12-year-old cow never entered the human food supply, USDA's mistake came as the government has vowed to toughen surveillance and testing for mad cow disease. The extra surveillance is an important step toward restoring about $4 billion in beef exports that were wiped out by the discovery of mad cow disease in a Washington state animal four months ago.
Acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford was asked by reporters whether his agency had found any problems with feed currently on the San Angelo, Texas, farm where the condemned cow lived its entire life.
He responded that the farm has never been found in violation of animal feed rules, but added that the cow was so old that it would have consumed feed a long time ago that was not covered by newer regulations.
"The feed that was fed to this animal would have been probably eight years ago," said Acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford, an expert on veterinary medicine.
Prior to 1997, cattle feed was allowed to contain bits of slaughtered cattle. An outbreak of mad cow disease in Europe in the 1980s, which still plagues the European Union, led to U.S. prohibitions in 1997 on feeding cattle parts to live cattle.
Experts agree the ruminant feed ban is the most important defense against mad cow disease.
"The cow was 12 years old. The feed ban has only been in place for seven years," Crawford said after speaking to a consumer safety group.
USDA officials on Wednesday said they hope to wrap up an internal investigation by the end of the week into why the condemned cow's carcass was rendered without being testing for mad cow disease.
Mad cow disease has been linked to a human variant blamed for 140 deaths in Europe.
Crawford said FDA took control of 200,000 pounds of rendered cattle meat and bone meal that could have contained parts of the condemned Texas cow because, "Now it's clear that we have BSE in this country and that allegedly the cow was exhibiting neurological signs."
Asked why it was clear there was mad cow disease in the United States, Crawford said he was referring to the Washington state cow, which was born in Canada.
Officials have given mixed signals on whether the USDA is broadening its probe related to the condemned Texas cow.
On Wednesday, Peter Fernandez, associate administrator of USDA's Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, said his agency was "looking into where this animal came from and any of the possibilities that it might pose a risk." However, he refused to detail the agency's activities related to the San Angelo farm and referred questions to the Texas Animal Health Commission.
Officials at that state agency referred all questions to USDA on Thursday.
FDA, which regulates animal feed, is expected to propose later this month its long-awaited rules to prohibit cattle blood and poultry litter from cattle feed, Crawford said
Reuters:May 06/04
The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday noted a possible link between a condemned cow in Texas and eight-year-old animal feed that was not protected against mad cow disease.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday acknowledged it erred in failing to test a cow for the brain-wasting disease when it arrived at a south-central Texas slaughterhouse possibly exhibiting a central nervous system disorder.
While beef from the 12-year-old cow never entered the human food supply, USDA's mistake came as the government has vowed to toughen surveillance and testing for mad cow disease. The extra surveillance is an important step toward restoring about $4 billion in beef exports that were wiped out by the discovery of mad cow disease in a Washington state animal four months ago.
Acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford was asked by reporters whether his agency had found any problems with feed currently on the San Angelo, Texas, farm where the condemned cow lived its entire life.
He responded that the farm has never been found in violation of animal feed rules, but added that the cow was so old that it would have consumed feed a long time ago that was not covered by newer regulations.
"The feed that was fed to this animal would have been probably eight years ago," said Acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford, an expert on veterinary medicine.
Prior to 1997, cattle feed was allowed to contain bits of slaughtered cattle. An outbreak of mad cow disease in Europe in the 1980s, which still plagues the European Union, led to U.S. prohibitions in 1997 on feeding cattle parts to live cattle.
Experts agree the ruminant feed ban is the most important defense against mad cow disease.
"The cow was 12 years old. The feed ban has only been in place for seven years," Crawford said after speaking to a consumer safety group.
USDA officials on Wednesday said they hope to wrap up an internal investigation by the end of the week into why the condemned cow's carcass was rendered without being testing for mad cow disease.
Mad cow disease has been linked to a human variant blamed for 140 deaths in Europe.
Crawford said FDA took control of 200,000 pounds of rendered cattle meat and bone meal that could have contained parts of the condemned Texas cow because, "Now it's clear that we have BSE in this country and that allegedly the cow was exhibiting neurological signs."
Asked why it was clear there was mad cow disease in the United States, Crawford said he was referring to the Washington state cow, which was born in Canada.
Officials have given mixed signals on whether the USDA is broadening its probe related to the condemned Texas cow.
On Wednesday, Peter Fernandez, associate administrator of USDA's Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, said his agency was "looking into where this animal came from and any of the possibilities that it might pose a risk." However, he refused to detail the agency's activities related to the San Angelo farm and referred questions to the Texas Animal Health Commission.
Officials at that state agency referred all questions to USDA on Thursday.
FDA, which regulates animal feed, is expected to propose later this month its long-awaited rules to prohibit cattle blood and poultry litter from cattle feed, Crawford said
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