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19 FDA Veterinarian 1 (2004)

handle is hein.animal/fdavt0019 and id is 1 raw text is: January/February 2004 Vol. XIX, No. I BSE Cow in U.S. Triggers FDA, USDA Cooperative Response, New Rules Announced by Jbn F Scheid, Editor A s soon as the U.S authorities an- nounced on December 23 that a cow in Washington State apparently was infected with Bovine Spongiform B- cephalopathy (BSE), the first case in the U.S., officials from the Food and Drug Administration immediately joined with those from the U.S Department of Ag- riculture to implement existing and pre- tested response plans. Many officials gave up most of their intended Christ- mas and New Year's holidays. But through their work, meat from the in- fected cow was traced and recalled, and more importantly, the potentially infec- tious material from the cow wasstopped from further distribution, and kept out of the food and feed supply. Here is an overview of the events that started when the presumptive positive cow was first discovered, and a descrip- tion of the responsibilities and functions of FDA and USDA-how they work to- gether to ensure the safety of public health. FDA USDA and FDA have separate roles that, together, were able to protect con- sumers and the U.S. cattle herd. While USDA went to work to track down the source herd of the infected animal and to recall meat that could have come from the animal, FDA's primary respon- sibilitywasto be sure the disease didn't spread via feed. Scientists believe that BSEistransmit- ted from animal to animal only through feed containing infectious material. Sci- entists believe that protein in rendered products made from an infected cow can contain the infectious agent. There- fore, the underlying principal of the BSE feed rule FDA implemented in 1997 is that ingredientsthat could carry the in- fectious agent cannot be fed to cattle or other ruminants. After the BSE-infected cow was dis- covered, FDA immediately sent investi- gators to any facility that might have handled the byproducts made from the infected animal, working cooperatively with rendering companies. Ultimately, FDA inspected and traced products re- lated to the BSE positive cow at 22 fa- cilities, including feed mills, farms, dairy farms, calf feeder lots, slaughter houses, meat processors, transfer stations, and shipping terminals. The investigators were able to track all rendered products-approximately 2,000 tons-that could contain material from the infected cow. None of it was used in feed. One factor aiding the investigation wasthat all of the facilitiesthat handled the byproduct were in compliancewith FDA's 1997 BSE feed rule. Dr. Stephen Sundlof, Director of the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, said dur- ing a December 26 technical IN THI briefing for the press about the BSE case, We inspect all fa- Presd cilities that handle ruminant protein on a yearly basis, and BSEar currently all of the firms that CVM are located in Washington Sour State are in compliance. Implementation of the BSE Rule When FDA implemented the BSEfeed rule in 1997, the first step for theAgency was an education campaign, followed up with inspection and enforcement activities. FDA has provided nationwide edu- cational seminarson the feed rule, de- veloped a CD-ROM for training, held teleconferences, developed guidances for different segments of the animal feed industry and for State and Federal in- spectors, and published a variety of ar- ticles. In addition, FDA has met with industry tradegroupsto discusscoordi- nation of educational efforts with af- fected parties. CVM has made its com- pliance program guidance, which describes the inspection process for Fed- eral and State inspectors, available on itswebsiteso the rulesand thetools FDA will use to enforce them are readily available. FDA and States have identified all the feed mills, renderersand otherfirmsthat handle material that is prohibited from cattle feed under the BSErule (so-called prohibited material). These firmswill (Continued, next page) IS ISSUE ent's Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Proposal crease BSE Funding $8 Million ............ 5 nd the Safety of Pets ............................... 5 Scientists Develop PCRTest to Determi ne ce of Animal Products in Feed, Pet Food ...... 8

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