Q.  Was BSE, also known as Mad Cow Disease, discovered in Texas last week? |...

Q.  Was BSE, also known as Mad Cow Disease, discovered in Texas last week?

A.  No.  BSE has never been found in the United States.  Since BSE was identified in England, the U.S. beef industry has taken stringent steps to prevent BSE from entering the country.  These include:

• Banning imports of beef from the U.K. since 1985.
  
  ·        Banning importation of ruminant animals and at-risk ruminant products from countries with confirmed cases of BSE since 1989.

·        Prior to these bans, 496 cattle were imported into the U.S. from the U.K.  and Ireland between 1981 and 1989. These cattle have been tracked and closely monitored for years. As of Dec. 31, 2000, only four remain alive, and are being monitored by APHIS. Analysis of brain tissue from imported cattle that were tested showed no presence of any TSE, including BSE. In addition, 36 head of cattle imported from other countries in Europe in 1996 are now under quarantine. No evidence of BSE has been found in any of these imported animals.

·        Testing brain specimens from 11,954 U.S. cattle that have displayed any neurological symptoms and from non-ambulatory animals (downer cows).

·        More than 60 veterinary diagnostic laboratories throughout the U.S. participate in an aggressive BSE surveillance program along with the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.

• In 1997, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the feeding of mammalian-derived protein supplements to cattle.

Q.  Why was the U.S. media reporting on a Texas problem last week?

A.  Human error in a Texas feedmill caused a regulatory violation.  The company voluntarily reported the violation within hours to the U.S. government and to the feedyard that received the feed.  The feedmill inadvertently mixed meat and bone meal derived from U.S. cattle with a feed supplement later fed to approximately 1,200 head of cattle in a Texas feedlot.  A few U.S. media misinterpreted this regulatory violation as a food safety concern.  The beef industry is educating these media that this is a regulatory violation and not a food safety problem.

Q.   Isn’t feeding mammalian-derived bone meal to cattle what caused BSE in Europe?

A.Bone meal derived from U.S. cattle does not present a problem since BSE is only spread through feed if that feed is contaminated with BSE. The United States has never had a case of BSE.  

Q.  Were the cattle quarantined?

A. No.  The Texas Animal Health Commission, the state government agency charged with monitoring livestock, has said the cattle have not been quarantined.  The feedlot owner voluntarily segregated the cattle pending release of the feed test results from the FDA. 

Q.  What were the results of the feed test?

A.  The tests showed a very low level of meat and bone meal in the feed.  This was not unexpected because Purina Mills, the feed manufacturer, had reported this accidental inclusion to FDA immediately.  Purina Mills, with the approval of FDA, announced that they are voluntarily purchasing all 1,222 head of cattle held in the Texas feedlot.  The cattle will be destroyed and will not enter the human food chain. 

Q.  What else is the U.S. doing to prevent BSE?

A.  The U.S. beef industry on Jan. 29, 2001, in Washington, D.C., unanimously reaffirmed its commitment to preventing BSE in the United States.  In a statement signed by organizations representing beef and dairy producers, veterinarians, meat processors, renderers and grain and feed producers, agreed to support three priorities of BSE prevention:

1.      Strict enforcement of import restrictions designed to keep BSE out of the United States.

2.     Achieve 100 percent compliance with the FDA feed ban

3.      Support active USDA BSE surveillance in the U.S.

 

-- USMEF --