While a final decision won’t come until May, the World Organization for Animal Health, or OIE, Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases has endorsed the recommendation from an OIE expert panel that the United States be classified as “controlled risk” for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
“This recommendation provides strong support that U.S. regulatory controls are effective and that U.S. cattle and products from cattle of all ages can be safely traded in accordance with international guidelines, due to our interlocking safeguards,” commented Ron DeHaven, administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The three OIE categories are negligible risk (reserved for countries with the lowest risk of BSE), controlled risk, and undetermined risk. DeHaven added that the classification is a much needed step in promoting beef trade.
Under OIE standards, meat and bone meal should not be exported from countries with controlled risk or undetermined risk classifications.
April 2007 Render