BSE                                     ...

BSE                                                                                                

Feed Restrictions Tightened To Prevent BSE

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday (Jan. 26) that it will ban the use of blood and blood products, table scraps and poultry litter in animal feed and increase inspections of feed mills and rendering plants. The FDA will also prohibit certain currently allowed feeding and manufacturing practices involving feed for cattle and other ruminant animals.

Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced human food (including dietary supplements) and cosmetics will no longer be allowed to use a wide range of bovine-derived material

To implement these new protections, FDA will publish two interim final rules that will take effect immediately upon publication, although there will be an opportunity for public comment after publication.

The first interim final rule will ban the following materials from FDA-regulated human food, (including dietary supplements) and cosmetics:

·         Any material from downer cattle;

·         Any material from dead cattle;

·         Specified Risk Materials (SRMs) that are known to harbor the highest concentrations of the infectious agent for BSE, such as the brain, skull, eyes, and spinal cord of cattle 30 months or older, and a portion of the small intestine and tonsils from all cattle, regardless of their age or health; and

·         Mechanically separated beef, a product which may contain SRMs. Meat obtained by Advanced Meat Recovery (an automated system for cutting meat from bones), may be used since USDA regulations do not allow the presence of SRMs in this product.

The second interim final rule will eliminate the present exemption in the feed rule that allows mammalian blood and blood products to be fed to other ruminants as a protein source. The rule will also ban the use of “poultry litter” as a feed ingredient for ruminant animals. Poultry litter consists of bedding, spilled feed, feathers, and fecal matter that are collected from living quarters where poultry is raised. This material is then used in cattle feed in some areas of the country where cattle and large poultry raising operations are located near each other. Poultry feed may legally contain protein that is prohibited in ruminant feed, such as bovine meat and bone meal. In addition, the rule will ban the use of “plate waste” as a feed ingredient for ruminants. Plate waste consists of uneaten meat and other meat scraps that are currently collected from some large restaurant operations and rendered into meat and bone meal for animal feed.

Renderers will be required to separate equipment used for ruminant feed from non-ruminant feed that might contain product derived from ruminants and the FDA will increase its inspection of renderers and feed mills.

For more information, an FDA press release is online.

BSE                                                                                                

Feed Restrictions Tightened To Prevent BSE

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday (Jan. 26) that it will ban the use of blood and blood products, table scraps and poultry litter in animal feed and increase inspections of feed mills and rendering plants. The FDA will also prohibit certain currently allowed feeding and manufacturing practices involving feed for cattle and other ruminant animals.

Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced human food (including dietary supplements) and cosmetics will no longer be allowed to use a wide range of bovine-derived material

To implement these new protections, FDA will publish two interim final rules that will take effect immediately upon publication, although there will be an opportunity for public comment after publication.

The first interim final rule will ban the following materials from FDA-regulated human food, (including dietary supplements) and cosmetics:

·         Any material from downer cattle;

·         Any material from dead cattle;

·         Specified Risk Materials (SRMs) that are known to harbor the highest concentrations of the infectious agent for BSE, such as the brain, skull, eyes, and spinal cord of cattle 30 months or older, and a portion of the small intestine and tonsils from all cattle, regardless of their age or health; and

·         Mechanically separated beef, a product which may contain SRMs. Meat obtained by Advanced Meat Recovery (an automated system for cutting meat from bones), may be used since USDA regulations do not allow the presence of SRMs in this product.

The second interim final rule will eliminate the present exemption in the feed rule that allows mammalian blood and blood products to be fed to other ruminants as a protein source. The rule will also ban the use of “poultry litter” as a feed ingredient for ruminant animals. Poultry litter consists of bedding, spilled feed, feathers, and fecal matter that are collected from living quarters where poultry is raised. This material is then used in cattle feed in some areas of the country where cattle and large poultry raising operations are located near each other. Poultry feed may legally contain protein that is prohibited in ruminant feed, such as bovine meat and bone meal. In addition, the rule will ban the use of “plate waste” as a feed ingredient for ruminants. Plate waste consists of uneaten meat and other meat scraps that are currently collected from some large restaurant operations and rendered into meat and bone meal for animal feed.

Renderers will be required to separate equipment used for ruminant feed from non-ruminant feed that might contain product derived from ruminants and the FDA will increase its inspection of renderers and feed mills.

For more information, an FDA press release is online.