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FDA To Ban Beef Blood, Poultry
'Litter' From Cattle Feed
New Mad Cow Rules To Protect US Food, Feed

By Randy Fabi
1-28-4



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Monday issued a package of new safeguards to protect the human food and animal feed supply from mad cow disease, but consumer groups said the protections did not go far enough.
 
The Food and Drug Administration said it would ban animal blood in cattle feed, while dietary supplements and cosmetics would be kept free of materials from cattle too sick or hurt to walk.
 
The FDA's new mad cow safeguards were the agency's first regulatory action since the brain-wasting disease was found on Dec. 23 in a Washington state dairy cow.
 
"Small as the risk may already be, this is the time to make sure the public is protected to the greatest extent possible," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson in a statement.
 
Since August 1997, the FDA has banned the use of cattle remains as an ingredient in feed for cattle, goats and sheep -- a practice blamed for spreading mad cow disease throughout Britain in the 1980s and 1990s. However, the agency had exempted blood from the feed ban.
 
"The 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 agency said.
 
Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is believed to be contracted by eating livestock feed containing bovine brains or spinal cords. Scientists believe people can get a human variant of mad cow disease by eating beef products infected by BSE.
 
The FDA said it would also ban the use of poultry litter and leftover meat from restaurants in cattle feed.
 
Some farmers use poultry feces and leftover meat from large restaurant chains as an additional protein supplement for cattle. Consumer groups are concerned these materials could contain traces of beef.
 
Tom Cook, president of the Washington-based trade group National Renderers Associations, said FDA's new rules would have some financial impact on the industry, but wasn't sure as to its extent.
 
SAFEGUARDS FOR HUMAN FOOD
 
Following similar moves by the USDA, the FDA said it would ban the use of materials from cattle unable to walk in the processing of human food, dietary supplements and cosmetics. Cattle that die on the farm would also be prohibited.
 
Brain, skull, eyes, spinal cord of cattle 30 months or older would also be banned from FDA-regulated food and cosmetics. All small intestine and tonsils from cattle, regardless of age, would be prohibited.
 
While supporting some of FDA steps, consumer advocates said the agency didn't go far enough. They wanted the FDA to ban all animal protein in animal feed.
 
"FDA needs to go further to protect public health," said Michael Hansen, senior research associate for Consumers Union. "We are worried that swine could be silent carriers of the disease."
 
Soymeal traders at the Chicago Board of Trade had also hoped for stronger FDA measures, as it would boost demand for soy-based animal feed.
 
"The market was held up on the possibility, remote as it may be, that meat and bone meal may be rationed," said one cash-connected trader. "This is far from that. This ban is very limited."
 
Brokers said soymeal futures have already priced in FDA's new rules as March contracts set a 6-1/2 year top last week.
 
USDA REFOCUSES INVESTIGATION
 
Meanwhile, the U.S. Agriculture Department is continuing its investigation into the single mad cow case, hoping to complete it within weeks.
 
As many as 98 animals were raised together in Canada -- which means they may have shared the same source of feed -- and then sent to the United States in two shipments in 2001.
 
Chief USDA veterinary officer Ron DeHaven told reporters the department would narrow its investigation to focus on 25 of those animals that were born within a year before or a year after the infected cow. The investigation has found 14 of the 25, he said.
 
Investigators may not be able to track down all of the 25 head, DeHaven told reporters, but it was unlikely any of the 25 had mad cow disease.
 
The investigation might be over "in days or weeks." he said.
 
The USDA has quarantined nine herds in three states since last month. DeHaven said it was safe to remove quarantine orders at five cattle herds because the disease was not contagious and authorities have killed animals in those herds that might be linked to the infected cow.
 
Trade adviser David Hegwood, who was part of a USDA delegation that traveled to Tokyo for discussions with Japanese officials last week, said Japan's ban on U.S. beef imports was doing "serious economic damage" to the U.S. beef industry and Japanese businesses as well.
 
Hegwood said there would be another meeting with Japanese officials next month after an international review team issues a report on U.S. safeguards.
 
The team was expected to issue its report by February 4.
 
 
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
 

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