Song in my head: Guaranteed to blow your mind....................anytime...................................Queen

MAD COW UPDATE, pt.2b

A Center For Science in the Public Interest report critiques the USDA's lack of an animal tracking system to protect consumers. and explains why Canadian's young cattle are safe to eat....

CSPI’s report, Name That Cow (.pdf file), recommends that the U.S. should move quickly to implement a mandatory national system requiring all cattle to bear ear tags or other visible identification indicating the farm of origin and year of birth.

The report also recommends that all high-risk cattle parts—including brains and small intestines—should be banned from animal feed and pet food, regardless of the age of the animal. Furthermore, says CSPI, spinal columns and neck bones from cattle of all should not be used in machines that separate meat from bones, and spinal cord should be banned from human food. CSPI also urges that the U.S. finalize, and Canada implement, a ban on downer cattle from entering the food supply.

"The question is how much longer USDA will delay implementing mandatory national cattle identification and other common sense reforms," DeWaal said. "That kind of food-dragging is isolating our cattle industry from the rest of the world." -LINK-


Saudi bans Canada beef imports over mad cow fears

Saudi Arabia's trade and industry ministry was cited as saying it has imposed a temporary ban on Monday on imports of Canadian beef because of incidents of mad cow disease in Canada. -LINK-

Here's a boring but interesting report. Are inspectors finding renderers and feed mills breaking cattle feed rules to prevent the spread of BSE? Fortunately, just a few.

March 2005 update on feed enforcement activities to limit the spread of BSE

To help prevent the establishment and amplification of BSE through feed in the United States, FDA implemented a final rule that prohibits the use of most mammalian protein in feeds for ruminant animals. This rule, Title 21 Part 589.2000 of the Code of Federal Regulations, here called the Ruminant Feed Ban, became effective on August 4, 1997.-LINK-


Egypt opens borders to U.S. beef products

Egypt is immediately resuming imports of U.S. beef and beef products from animals less than 30 months of age, ending its 14-month ban on U.S. exports. -LINK-


Taiwan to conditionally lift US beef ban

Chen Lu-hung, director of the Bureau of Food Safety, was cited as telling Reuters that Taiwan plans to lift a 15-month ban on U.S. beef imports on April 16 by allowing imports of boneless meat from cattle under 30 months old, adding, "Our committee has made a conclusion that there is no food safety concern, this is the most important reason. So we decided to reopen the market...of course on some conditions." -LINK-


Japan confirms 16th case of mad cow disease

The Japanese government on Sunday was cited as confirming the nation's 16th case of mad cow disease in a female Holstein raised in the northern island of Hokkaido.The ministry of health was cited as saying in a statement that the nine-year-old cow, slaughtered on Thursday, tested positive for the brain wasting disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). -LINK-

USDA meets goal, but will continue BSE testing

In only ten months, the USDA-APHIS has exceeded its goal by testing 284,257high-risk animals for BSE since June 1, 2004. But it will continue enhancedsurveillance until June 1, 2005. At that time, it will be determined if further testing is needed. -LINK-

Wow!! Grownups working together....!<\italic>

Officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States (U.S.) met recently in Mexico City and agreed to a harmonized North American import standard for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). This standard fully reflects current guidelines and proposed amendments to the animal health code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).The harmonized North American standard is based on science and provides continued protection of human and animal health and food safety, while also establishing a framework for safe international trade opportunities for cattle and beef products from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. -LINK-

France announces two more cases of human mad-cow disease

A French government health watchdog was cited as announcing Tuesday that two more people had been diagnosed with the human form of mad-cow disease, bringing the national tally to 11. -LINK-

Britain changing BSE inspection regime

According to the March 21 Feedstuffs, the British government's Department forthe Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has moved toward replacing its"over 30 months" regulation with a "robust" inspection regime used in otherEuropean Union countries combined with a cohort kill program. Under the newrules, animals born before mid-1996 will be permanently excluded and packingplants still must remove all specified risk materials (SRMs). Feed controlsand the cohort slaughter program of slaughtering cattle born between a yearbefore and a year after a BSE-infected animal will continue. Trials of the newinspection system will continue in packing plants through April. Changes toregulations governing British beef exports are not expected before the end ofthis year following EU approvals. -LINK-

U.S. hiding BSE, says whistleblower

Dr. Lester Friedlander, a former American-government packing plant veterinarian, was cited as saying Wednesday that the United States is hiding cases of mad cow disease and that colleagues with the United States Department of Agriculture have told him of cases that the USDA has chosen not to announce. -LINK-

Fibril shape is the basis of prion strains and cross-species prion infection

New research on prions, the infectious proteins behind "mad cow" disease and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease in humans, suggests that the ability of prions in one species to infect other species depends on the shape of the toxic threadlike fibers produced by the prion. Two studies on the topic appear in the 8 April issue of the journal Cell. -LINK-

Japan confirms 17th case of mad cow disease

Japan has confirmed its 17th case of mad cow disease in a four-and-a-half-year-old cow, the government said.

Experts at the National Institute of Animal Health concluded that the Holstein cow from Otofuku town in northern Hokkaido prefecture (state) was infected with the fatal brain-wasting illness, Agricultural Ministry spokesman Tomomi Sugizaki said. -LINK-

Japan urges blood donations after mad cow scare

Japanese youths were, according to this story, urged to donate blood on Saturday as the mad cow scare threatened to cause serious shortages.Health Minister Hidehisa Otsuji began a week-long government campaign with a rally featuring a hip-hop concert. (from FSNet listserv, bu sub).

Would you like your McBSE with fries?