Over a 12 to 18 month time frame, the enhanced program will test as many cattle as possible in the high-risk population – those animals showing clinical signs involving the central nervous system and dead and non-ambulatory cattle – as well as test a sampling of normal cattle over 30 months of age. USDA will transfer $70 million from its Commodity Credit Corporation to fund the program, which will include defraying costs incurred by industries participating in the surveillance program for such items as transportation, disposal and storage, and carcasses being tested. USDA will build on previous cooperative efforts with renderers and others to obtain samples from the targeted high-risk populations, which are banned from the human food supply.
Under the enhanced program, using statistically geographic modeling, sampling some 268,000 animals would allow for the detection of BSE at a rate of one positive in 10 million adult cattle with a 99 percent confidence level. In other words, the enhanced program could detect BSE even if there were only five positive animals in the entire country. Sampling some 201,000 animals would allow for the detection of BSE at the same rate at a 95 percent confidence level.
The sampling of apparently normal animals will come from the 40 U.S. slaughter plants that handle 86 percent of the aged cattle proces-sed for human consumption each year in the United States. The carcasses from these animals will be held and not allowed to enter the human food chain until test results show the samples are negative for BSE.
USDA will begin immediately to prepare for the increased testing, with the anticipation that the program will be ready to be fully implemented June 1, 2004. In the meantime, BSE testing will continue at the current rate, which is based on a plan to test 40,000 animals in fiscal year 2004. Testing will be conducted through USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, IA, and a network of laboratories around the country. USDA is also working to approve rapid tests for use in the testing program.
USDA’s surveillance plan and the international panel’s recommendations can be found on Render’s Web site at “In the News.”
Animal Transport Regs Amended
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) amended its regulations in March governing interstate transportation of animals to establish requirements for the collection of blood and tissue samples from livestock and poultry at slaughtering and rendering establishments when it is necessary for disease surveillance.
Any person who moves livestock or poultry interstate for slaughter or rendering may only move the animals to a slaughtering or rendering establishment listed by the administrator. The administrator may list an establishment after determining the following:
1. The establishment provides the type of space and facilities specified by the regulations to safely collect blood and tissue samples for disease testing.
2. It is not currently necessary to conduct testing at the establishment because the data collected through such testing would not significantly assist the agency’s disease surveillance programs and the establishment has agreed to allow testing and provide access to facilities upon future APHIS notification that testing is required.
The long-term effects of this change will be to improve surveillance programs for animal diseases, to contribute to the eventual control or eradication of such diseases, and to assist in certifying the state of the United States or its regions with regard to freedom from specific animal diseases.
The final rule went into effect March 4, 2004, and is accessible on the Federal Register Web site at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/04-4810.htm.
Feed Ban Compliance Excellent
To help prevent the establishment and amplification of BSE through feed in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented a final rule in August 1997 that prohibits the use of most mammalian protein in feeds for ruminant animals.
Inspections of renderers, feed mills, and other feed manufacturers conducted by FDA or state officials under contract to FDA show a continuing record of compliance with the feed ban. The enforcement report recently released by FDA covers 26,000 inspections conducted through January 23, 2004, and is classified to reflect the compliance status at the time of the inspection. The summarized data reflects these classifications:
• OAI, or Official Action Indicated, when significant objectionable conditions or practices are found and regulatory sanctions are warranted in order to address the establishment’s lack of compliance with the regulation.
• VAI, or Voluntary Action Indicated, when objectionable conditions or practices are found that do not meet the threshold of regulatory significance, but do warrant advisory actions to inform the establishment of findings that should be voluntarily corrected.
Among the 235 renderers whose initial inspection has been reported to FDA, 157 firms handle materials prohibited from use in ruminant feed (67 percent of firms inspected). None of the 157 firms were classified as OAI, with three firms (1.9 percent) classified as VAI.
Compliance results for all other categories inspected, including feed mills, protein blenders, ruminant feeders, and pet food manufacturers, are available on Render’s Web site at www.rendermagazine.com. Click on “In the News.”
There are a total of 13,672 active firms whose initial inspection has been reported to FDA, with 1,949 firms handling materials prohibited from use in ruminant feed (14 percent of firms inspected). Five of the 1,949 firms (0.1 percent) were classified as OAI, with 85 firms (4.4 percent) classified as VAI.
For more information, log onto FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine Web site at www.fda.gov/cvm.
Newsline - April 2004 Render