Mad Cow News For October, 2009 Thru March, 2010

Tyson Meats sends prohibited beef parts to Japan.

Mad cow fear: JAPAN suspends beef from US plant

TOKYO -- Japan has suspended beef shipments from an American meat-packing plant after finding cattle parts banned under an agreement to prevent the spread of mad cow disease, the agriculture ministry said Saturday. Japanese quarantine inspectors found bovine spinal columns in one of 732 boxes sent by Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc., which arrived in Japan last month, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said in a statement. The box contained 35 pounds (16 kilograms) of chilled short loin with spinal bones. CBS News Link

Now that ranchers can't use dead cattle in their cattle's feed alternative cheap ingredients are being tried.

MONTANA: FDA approves camelina as cattle feed supplement

BILLINGS, Mont. -- Camelina companies say federal officials have approved the use of meal from the biofuels crop as a 10 percent supplement in cattle feed — a development that could boost the prospects for Montana's fledgling camelina industry. ABC News Link

Camelina is a plant from the mustard family that is grown for its high oil content and used mostly for the biofuels industry. Camelina has some noxious properties and can only be a small percentage of a cow's food. It's long term effects on cattle's health is not known.

ALBERTA: Alta. cow tests positive for BSE: CFIA

Canada's 17th case of BSE was discovered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) last month but has only now been publicly announced. country-guide.ca Link

Once again sheep lungs are allowed to be sold in the US, if you like that sorta thing.

US to lift 21-year ban on haggis

Burns' night boost for famous Scottish dish that fell victim to BSE fears
Smuggled and bootlegged, it has been the cause of transatlantic tensions for more than two decades. But after 21 years in exile, the haggis is to be allowed back into the United States.

The "great chieftan o' the puddin-race" was one of earliest casualties of the BSE crisis of the 1980s-90s, banned on health grounds by the US authorities in 1989 because they feared its main ingredient ‑ minced sheep offal could prove lethal. Guardian.co.uk Link

Animal feed manufacturer violated regulations to prevent the spread of mad cow disease

An Idaho feed manufacturer received a warning letter, sent Feb.11, 2010, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for violating federal regulations prohibiting animal proteins in ruminant feed to control the spread of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease. Eat, Drink, and Be Blog