April 23, 2009
US postpones BSE feed restrictions for five months
New feed restrictions to prevent the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, among US cattle will not be enforced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) until October 26, about five months later than the originally planned start date of April 27.
The FDA generated concern and consternation among livestock, meat and animal-feed producers earlier this month when the agency announced it would not implement the restrictions as planned on April 27. Instead, the FDA said it would hold another public comment period on delaying implementation until June 26.
But now the FDA has changed its mind, according to its latest submission to the US Federal Register. It is planning on finalising the rule on April 27, but "establishing a compliance date of October 26, 2009."
The FDA said the additional five months will give livestock renderers more time to "comply with the new requirements" and give "cattle producers and packers, more time to identify appropriate methods for disposing of material prohibited from use in animal feed by this rule."
What they have to dispose of is brains and spinal cords from dead cattle that will be rendered into ingredients for animal feed.
The new rule, commonly known as the "feedban," is a stricter version of the original implemented in 1997. The new feedban would mandate removing brains and spinal cords from carcasses of older cattle before they can be rendered into any type of animal feed. The 1997 feedban only required that the brains and spinal cords be removed from cattle feed.
BSE can be spread among cattle if they are fed ground up material from infected cattle. That is why the FDA banned feeding bovine material to cattle in 1997.
But, according to the FDA, other non-cattle feed could be infected and could get mixed up with cattle feed.
The new rule, by banning the inclusion of cattle brains and spinal cords in all feed for all animals, creates a lot of new expense and a lot of new waste for the industry.
The National Cattlemen''s Beef Association has always strongly opposed the new feedban requirements and had hoped the FDA might have changed its mind about implementing them.
"The rule creates significant costs and environmental problems, and has no demonstrable benefit. Our existing feedban has proven highly successful in limiting (BSE) in the US herd," Elizabeth Parker, NCBA chief veterinarian, said Wednesday (Apr 22).