BSE Jan 8 | FSIS Issues New BSE Rules | The Food Safety And Inspection Servic...
BSE Jan 8
FSIS Issues New BSE Rules
The Food Safety And Inspection Service (FSIS) today (Jan. 8) issued four new rules to implement announcements made last week by Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman to further enhance safeguards against Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
On Dec. 30, 2003, Secretary Veneman announced a number of policies that will further strengthen protections against BSE, including the immediate banning of non-ambulatory (downer) animals from the human food supply. Rules to address the remaining issues are on display at the Federal Register and are the result of many months of development. These policies involve: requiring additional process controls for establishments using advanced meat recovery (AMR) systems; holding meat from cattle that have been tested for BSE until the test results are received and they are negative; and prohibiting the air-injection stunning of cattle.
The rules released today include:
Product Holding. USDA is publishing a notice announcing that FSIS inspectors are no longer marking cattle tested for BSE as “inspected and passed” until confirmation is received that the cattle have, in fact, tested negative for BSE. FSIS will be issuing a directive to inspection program personnel outlining this policy.
Specified Risk Material. With the filing of an interim final rule, FSIS is declaring that skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, vertebral column, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of cattle 30 months of age or older and the small intestine of all cattle are specified risk materials, thus prohibiting their use in the human food supply. Tonsils from all cattle are already considered inedible and therefore do not enter the food supply. These enhancements are consistent with the actions taken by Canada after the discovery of BSE there in May. These prohibitions are effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register.
In this rule, FSIS is requiring federally inspected establishments that slaughter cattle remove, segregate and dispose of these specified risk materials so that they cannot possibly enter the food chain. To facilitate the enforcement of this rule, FSIS has developed procedures for verifying the approximate age of cattle that are slaughtered in official establishments. State inspected plants must have equivalent procedures in place to prevent these specified risk materials from entering the food supply.
Advanced Meat Recovery. AMR is a technology that removes muscle tissue from the bone of beef carcasses under high pressure without incorporating bone material. AMR product can be labeled as “meat.” FSIS has previously established and enforced regulations that prohibit spinal cord from being included in products labeled as “meat.”
This interim final rule expands that prohibition to include dorsal root ganglia, clusters of nerve cells connected to the spinal cord along the vertebral column, in addition to spinal cord tissue. In addition, because the vertebral column and skull in cattle 30 months and older will be considered inedible, they cannot be used for AMR.
Comments on this interim final rule will be accepted for 90 days after the publication of the rule in the Federal Register. Comments should be directed to: FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket #03-038IF, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th and C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
Air-Injection Stunning. To ensure that portions of the brain are not dislocated into the tissues of the carcass as a consequence of humanely stunning cattle during the slaughter process, FSIS is issuing an interim final rule to ban the practice of air-injection stunning.
Comments on this interim final rule will be accepted for 90 days after the publication of the rule in the Federal Register. Comments should be directed to: FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket #01-033DF, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th and C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
Japan Won't Lift Ban Prior To Team Report
Japan will not lift its ban on beef imports from the United States before a team due to visit the United States this week reports back to the agriculture and health ministries. The five-strong team will make a nine-day visit to the U.S. and Canada this week and meet with U.S. and Canadian officials.
Japan’s media reports that domestic wholesale prices of beef and pork have increased 10-20 percent since the ban was imposed.
Japanese Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa met with USDA Secretary Ann Veneman yesterday (Jan. 7) and is scheduled to hold further talks today with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.
Economic Impact of Closed Markets
The temporary ban on U.S. beef due to the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a Canadian-born dairy cow in Washington State will have a profound effect on the $3.5 billion per year U.S. beef export industry, the corn and soybean market, shipping companies and other allied industries. USMEF has written an initial assessment of the Economic Impact of Closed Markets for its members. A more detailed breakdown of the impact by markets is also available online.
Mexico Will Not Open Border Immediately
In a late afternoon press conference (Jan. 6) Mexican Agriculture Secretary Javier Usabiaga announced that Mexico would not immediately open its border to U.S. beef products until the USDA had answered all of Mexico’s questions to its government’s satisfaction. Usabiaga indicated that this could take weeks if not months and there would be no immediate opening of the border.
USDA Under Secretaries J.B. Penn and William Hawks met today with Usabiaga, Under Secretary Javier Trujillo, and Chief Veterinary Officer Jose Angel del Valle of the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Food and Fisheries (SAGARPA) to discuss the reopening of the Mexican market to U.S. beef exports.
Mexico closed its border to U.S. cattle and beef products on Dec. 24, 2003.
The USDA officials reassured the Mexican government that the U.S. meat supply is safe and discussed the additional measures announced by USDA on Dec. 30 to further enhance consumer safety and protect livestock health.
SAGARPA responded with a request for additional information concerning timing, implementation procedures, and enforcement of the six measures USDA announced to further assure the safety of the North American herd and beef supply. SAGARPA also requested information regarding traceability and results of the epidemiological investigation now being conducted.
A U.S. trade team is in Mexico to talk with officials there regarding beef trade with the United States. USDA's Under Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs Bill Hawks and Under Secretary of Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services J.B. Penn left for Mexico Monday afternoon (Jan. 5) to meet with Mexican government officials about trade concerns arising from the BSE issue.
USDA invited a technical team from SAGARPA to visit the United States next week for further technical consultations and discussions. The invitation was accepted and it was agreed that Dr. Jose Angel del Valle will lead the Mexican delegation.
DNA Test Says BSE Cow Was Born In Canada
DNA tests performed by the U.S. and Canada show with a "high-degree of certainty" that the cow that tested positive in the U.S. for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was born in Canada, according to USDA Chief Veterinarian Ron DeHaven.
Canadian officials agree that the animal was born on a dairy farm in the Canadian province of Alberta.
Brian Evans, Canada's chief veterinary officer, said the age of the animal would also tend to support the earlier conclusion that infection most likely occurred prior to the institution of feed bans that eliminated the feeding of meat and bone meal. He said that the investigation would continue until no outstanding issues remained.
A herd of 450 containing the calf from the index cow will be depopulated later this week. Primarily a bull calf finishing operation, the herd is being depopulated and eliminated from the food chain because the calf from the index cow was not tagged at birth and USDA is not going to do DNA testing on the whole herd to positively identify the calf. This step is being done from an "abundance of caution" as the potential maternal transmission risk is extremely low.
BSE Jan 8
FSIS Issues New BSE Rules
The Food Safety And Inspection Service (FSIS) today (Jan. 8) issued four new rules to implement announcements made last week by Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman to further enhance safeguards against Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).
On Dec. 30, 2003, Secretary Veneman announced a number of policies that will further strengthen protections against BSE, including the immediate banning of non-ambulatory (downer) animals from the human food supply. Rules to address the remaining issues are on display at the Federal Register and are the result of many months of development. These policies involve: requiring additional process controls for establishments using advanced meat recovery (AMR) systems; holding meat from cattle that have been tested for BSE until the test results are received and they are negative; and prohibiting the air-injection stunning of cattle.
The rules released today include:
Product Holding. USDA is publishing a notice announcing that FSIS inspectors are no longer marking cattle tested for BSE as “inspected and passed” until confirmation is received that the cattle have, in fact, tested negative for BSE. FSIS will be issuing a directive to inspection program personnel outlining this policy.
Specified Risk Material. With the filing of an interim final rule, FSIS is declaring that skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, vertebral column, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of cattle 30 months of age or older and the small intestine of all cattle are specified risk materials, thus prohibiting their use in the human food supply. Tonsils from all cattle are already considered inedible and therefore do not enter the food supply. These enhancements are consistent with the actions taken by Canada after the discovery of BSE there in May. These prohibitions are effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register.
In this rule, FSIS is requiring federally inspected establishments that slaughter cattle remove, segregate and dispose of these specified risk materials so that they cannot possibly enter the food chain. To facilitate the enforcement of this rule, FSIS has developed procedures for verifying the approximate age of cattle that are slaughtered in official establishments. State inspected plants must have equivalent procedures in place to prevent these specified risk materials from entering the food supply.
Advanced Meat Recovery. AMR is a technology that removes muscle tissue from the bone of beef carcasses under high pressure without incorporating bone material. AMR product can be labeled as “meat.” FSIS has previously established and enforced regulations that prohibit spinal cord from being included in products labeled as “meat.”
This interim final rule expands that prohibition to include dorsal root ganglia, clusters of nerve cells connected to the spinal cord along the vertebral column, in addition to spinal cord tissue. In addition, because the vertebral column and skull in cattle 30 months and older will be considered inedible, they cannot be used for AMR.
Comments on this interim final rule will be accepted for 90 days after the publication of the rule in the Federal Register. Comments should be directed to: FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket #03-038IF, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th and C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
Air-Injection Stunning. To ensure that portions of the brain are not dislocated into the tissues of the carcass as a consequence of humanely stunning cattle during the slaughter process, FSIS is issuing an interim final rule to ban the practice of air-injection stunning.
Comments on this interim final rule will be accepted for 90 days after the publication of the rule in the Federal Register. Comments should be directed to: FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket #01-033DF, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th and C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
Japan Won't Lift Ban Prior To Team Report
Japan will not lift its ban on beef imports from the United States before a team due to visit the United States this week reports back to the agriculture and health ministries. The five-strong team will make a nine-day visit to the U.S. and Canada this week and meet with U.S. and Canadian officials.
Japan’s media reports that domestic wholesale prices of beef and pork have increased 10-20 percent since the ban was imposed.
Japanese Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa met with USDA Secretary Ann Veneman yesterday (Jan. 7) and is scheduled to hold further talks today with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.
Economic Impact of Closed Markets
The temporary ban on U.S. beef due to the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a Canadian-born dairy cow in Washington State will have a profound effect on the $3.5 billion per year U.S. beef export industry, the corn and soybean market, shipping companies and other allied industries. USMEF has written an initial assessment of the Economic Impact of Closed Markets for its members. A more detailed breakdown of the impact by markets is also available online.
Mexico Will Not Open Border Immediately
In a late afternoon press conference (Jan. 6) Mexican Agriculture Secretary Javier Usabiaga announced that Mexico would not immediately open its border to U.S. beef products until the USDA had answered all of Mexico’s questions to its government’s satisfaction. Usabiaga indicated that this could take weeks if not months and there would be no immediate opening of the border.
USDA Under Secretaries J.B. Penn and William Hawks met today with Usabiaga, Under Secretary Javier Trujillo, and Chief Veterinary Officer Jose Angel del Valle of the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Food and Fisheries (SAGARPA) to discuss the reopening of the Mexican market to U.S. beef exports.
Mexico closed its border to U.S. cattle and beef products on Dec. 24, 2003.
The USDA officials reassured the Mexican government that the U.S. meat supply is safe and discussed the additional measures announced by USDA on Dec. 30 to further enhance consumer safety and protect livestock health.
SAGARPA responded with a request for additional information concerning timing, implementation procedures, and enforcement of the six measures USDA announced to further assure the safety of the North American herd and beef supply. SAGARPA also requested information regarding traceability and results of the epidemiological investigation now being conducted.
A U.S. trade team is in Mexico to talk with officials there regarding beef trade with the United States. USDA's Under Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs Bill Hawks and Under Secretary of Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services J.B. Penn left for Mexico Monday afternoon (Jan. 5) to meet with Mexican government officials about trade concerns arising from the BSE issue.
USDA invited a technical team from SAGARPA to visit the United States next week for further technical consultations and discussions. The invitation was accepted and it was agreed that Dr. Jose Angel del Valle will lead the Mexican delegation.
DNA Test Says BSE Cow Was Born In Canada
DNA tests performed by the U.S. and Canada show with a "high-degree of certainty" that the cow that tested positive in the U.S. for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was born in Canada, according to USDA Chief Veterinarian Ron DeHaven.
Canadian officials agree that the animal was born on a dairy farm in the Canadian province of Alberta.
Brian Evans, Canada's chief veterinary officer, said the age of the animal would also tend to support the earlier conclusion that infection most likely occurred prior to the institution of feed bans that eliminated the feeding of meat and bone meal. He said that the investigation would continue until no outstanding issues remained.
A herd of 450 containing the calf from the index cow will be depopulated later this week. Primarily a bull calf finishing operation, the herd is being depopulated and eliminated from the food chain because the calf from the index cow was not tagged at birth and USDA is not going to do DNA testing on the whole herd to positively identify the calf. This step is being done from an "abundance of caution" as the potential maternal transmission risk is extremely low.