BSE Update December 31, 2003

USDA Reported the following information today:

• This is the eighth day of the investigation.

• USDA announced that a Canadian health certificate issued for a herd dispersal of 82 animals on Aug. 28, 2001, includes the index cow in the U.S. BSE investigation.  All were approved for export to the United States.  It appears that 81 of those animals, including the index cow, entered the United States.  The investigation is trying to locate the other cow.  The trace-back investigation has identified that nine of the 82 are still in the index herd in Washington.  At this time, all trace-back activities lead to Washington State, but the investigation could expand into other states in the future, depending on the leads that must be followed.

• DNA test samples to identify the index cow are in transit to a USDA Agricultural Research Service lab in Nebraska and one in Saskatchewan, Canada.  If testing runs smoothly, results could come back by early to mid-week, next week.

• The policy to exclude downer animals from the human food chain went into effect yesterday.  The rest of the Dec. 30 announcements about changes to the USDA system will go into effect as they are published in the Federal Register.

• Non-ambulatory animals represent the most important element of the USDA BSE surveillance program. Of the 20,000-plus animals tested each of the past two years, about ¾ of them were non-ambulatory.  Because all downer animals now will be excluded from the food chain, the agency must work to achieve valid testing of this group. This will require that the agency work with the rendering industry, veterinarians and the cattle industry to develop an effective surveillance program.

• USDA clarified its new policy for non-ambulatory animals. It said animals that are non-ambulatory at the slaughter facility will not be allowed in the human food chain and will be tested for BSE.

• USDA clarified its Dec. 30 statement regarding the exclusion of the small intestine from all cattle in the human food chain.  Only the distal ileum will be excluded, not the entire small intestine.

• State inspected meat plants will have to comply with all federal regulations.

• The purpose of the animal ID program is for tracking disease, with the goal of tracing back to the farm of origin within 48 hours.  This will assist in the efforts to detect, contain and eliminate animal disease outbreaks.

• USDA named members of the international panel that will review the BSE investigation in the United States and make recommendations for the U.S. program.  It includes representatives from private industry, the University of Minnesota, Switzerland and New Zealand.

• Japan has reported BSE in two cattle under 30 months of age;  however, in both cases the immunohistochemistry test, considered the gold standard for BSE testing, was negative, while the rapid screening tests showed positive.  Japan has said it may have a different strain of BSE but currently there is no evidence that there are different strains of BSE.  Our exposure to BSE comes from European cattle and feed imported prior to U.S. bans against both.

Consumer Research

A checkoff-funded national consumer survey was in the field on Monday and Tuesday nights (Dec. 29 & 30) to assess consumer awareness of BSE and confidence in the safety of U.S. beef. Preliminary data from the survey was received today. Although not all the data has yet been received and the complete data set will be analyzed over the next week, the survey shows the following:

• As might be expected, consumer awareness of BSE/mad cow disease is at an all-time high.

• Despite the extremely high awareness, consumer confidence remains very strong and is unchanged from levels seen prior to the announcement of the BSE case. This confidence level validates what we are seeing in terms of continued strong sales in both the retail and foodservice sectors.

• Consumers perceive that USDA, FDA and cattlemen are doing a good job of keeping U.S. beef safe from BSE/mad cow disease.

• The message that U.S. beef is the safest in the world is getting through to consumers.

December 30

Overview of the investigation

Additional investigation of the BSE case by USDA and FDA show that the U.S. system of firewalls is working and that the U.S. has extensive capabilities for tracing and investigating animal disease.

In only six days, the government agencies have preliminarily traced the infected cow to its origins and await only the results of DNA testing to confirm it was from a dairy herd in southern Alberta. In addition, USDA has identified 81 other animals from the index cow's herd that crossed the border into the U.S. and those animals are being traced and will be tested. USDA said yesterday that further conversation with the index cow's owner confirmed the animal was 61/2 years old.

The FSIS has traced, located and recalled the meat from the 20 carcasses processed the day the index cow was processed. Of the 10,000 lbs recalled, 80 percent was distributed in the states of Oregon and Washington. The FDA has tracked rendered products from the index animal and all those products currently are under FDA control.

The speed and thoroughness of this investigation and the openness with which USDA and FDA have communicated about it have contributed to the apparent continuation of strong U.S. consumer demand for beef.

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USDA Reported the following today:

·         This is day six of the investigation

·         Effective immediately, all downed animals are banned from the human food supply

·         Effective immediately, carcasses from all animals tested for BSE will be held pending receipt of test results. USDA will move to use of a rapid test to screen for BSE in tested animals with results that can be available within 36 hours. If a rapid test finds a positive, the samples must then be sent for a confirmatory test such as the current immunohistochemistry test used by USDA.

·         USDA will implement new regulations which will become effective upon publication. These new regulations will result in the following:

o        Specified Risk Material (SRM) from cattle over 30 months of age will be banned from entering the human food chain. The list of SRM will be consistent with the SRM specified by Canada following its finding of a case of BSE in May 2003.

o        The small intestine will be removed from all cattle and banned from the human food chain.

o        The rules for Advanced Meat Recovery will be broadened and will ensure that central nervous system tissue and dorsal root ganglia (potentially infective nerve tissue) will not be present in human food.

o        The use of air-injection stunning devices for cattle slaughter will be prohibited.

·         USDA will aggressively work to accelerate the development of a national animal identification system

·         USDA will appoint an international team of experts to review its investigation of this case and to review U.S. systems for food safety. This will be similar to the international team appointed by Canada and, indeed, members of the Canadian team will serve on the U.S. team.

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Monday, Dec. 29, 2003 BSE Update

USDA Reported the Following Information Today:

• This is the sixth day of the investigation.

• The BSE surveillance and protection systems continue to work and the U.S. beef supply remains safe and wholesome. 

• USDA reiterates that trade with countries where BSE has been identified should be based on science, not perception, especially when the BSE prevalence is low.  Certain products, such as boneless beef from cattle under 30 months of age, present minimal risk.

• USDA's primary line of investigation still leads to a farm in Alberta, Canada.  Canadian officials are assisting with the investigation.  Records now indicate that the index cow was one of 82 approved for import into the United States.  They were imported into the United States in two groups. The first group of 74 contained the index cow; another group of 8 was imported at a later date.  USDA is now tracing all 82 animals.

• If the index cow is the one associated with Canadian records, then its age is 6 ½. 

• The USDA trade team on Dec. 29 met with Japanese officials and extended an offer to have Japan send a technical team to the United States to review our system.  The indication is that the Japanese team will arrive soon, possibly as early as the first week in January.

• The Food Safety Inspection Service has been working since 1906 to keep diseased meat out of the food supply.  It is important to understand that a non-ambulatory animal is not necessarily a diseased animal. It may only be injured

• USDA tested 20,526 animals for BSE in 2003.  This is more than 45 times the number of tests required of the U.S. as a minimal risk country according to the international standard.  Testing in the United States is based on a 95 percent confidence rate of finding BSE if it exists in one in 1 million cattle. 

• USDA does not have an exact figure on the number of downer cattle in the United States.  Last year, 130 non-ambulatory animals at slaughter were automatically condemned due to clear signs of possible neurological disorder.  The meat from these animals never entered the food chain.

• Eighty percent of the beef involved in the recall associated with the index cow was sold in Washington and Oregon.  Because the infectious agent (central nervous system tissue) never entered the human food chain, the risk to human health associated with this meat is practically zero.

• Fewer than 35 locations in the United States are approved to use advanced meat recovery technology.  That technology was not used with the processing of the index cow or any of the other 19 carcasses processed that day.

• Because of this incident, USDA will be reviewing its overall safety program relative to BSE. This includes a review of the feed ban, expanded testing including appropriate levels and animals targeted,  and possibly removing specified risk materials from a broader population than is currently done.

December 28, 2003 BSE Update

USDA reported the following information today: 

• The U.S. trade delegation to Japan has arrived and has scheduled meetings with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The team is headed by David Hegwood, Counsel to the Secretary of Agriculture, who is accompanied by Dr. Charles (Chuck) Lambert, Deputy Undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. The team will be supported by FAS, FSIS and APHIS staff who work in Japan. 

• USDA chief veterinarian Dr. Ron DeHaven said that international trading partners should re-open their borders to U.S. beef. DeHaven noted that the U.S. has numerous, long-standing safeguards and firewalls in place to assure the safety of American beef and that the current international trade restrictions are an over-reaction based on public perceptions, not on science. 

• In regard to assurances that meat is safe, DeHaven also noted there is a large body of scientific evidence showing that meat from cattle is not a tissue at risk for BSE. He also noted that the standards of the Office International des Epizooties (the international body responsible for standards on animal health) recognize that meat is a commodity that can be safely imported even from countries with a moderate or high risk of BSE. The OIE has a specific chapter on BSE written by international experts, many of whom have conducted research on BSE and food safety, which is accepted by its 164 member countries. 

• USDA has initiated a DNA testing process to confirm the index cow was of Canadian origin and identify the birth herd. Dr. Ron DeHaven said DNA testing would be performed on tissues from: the index cow; a calf from the index cow on the U.S. side and another calf on the Canadian side; and semen from the Canadian sire of the index cow. 
   
• Regarding the proposed rule published in November to open the Canadian border to live cattle trade, USDA said the comment period is open until January 5, 2004. USDA will take into account this new situation and the findings of the investigation as it reviews comments. NCBA has requested an indefinite extension of the final comments on the proposed rule until the investigation is complete. This will allow us to gather all the information from the investigation so we can comment accordingly on behalf of our members.

NCBA applauds the speed and thoroughness of the USDA investigation as well as the openness with which the agency has reported on its activities. The transparency of the investigation and the timeliness of USDA information have been key factors in work by government and industry to accurately inform and assure consumers worldwide about the safety of U.S. beef..

Distribution of Video File Footage

This week, NCBA will distribute to national broadcast and cable stations recent videotape footage taken at cattle operations around the U.S. We are calling on broadcasters to stop using the old and misleading footage of a British Holstein cow with BSE stumbling around. There has been inordinate use of this footage which is in no way representative of what is happening today. The footage is being offered for use as broadcasters see fit.

Media Coverage and Interviews

NCBA spokespersons continue to do interviews with the news media regarding the BSE incident. Chandler Keys has been interviewed by NCBA Nightly News and the CBS Evening News for news reports Sunday evening. A lot of the Sunday morning newspaper coverage focused on USDA's report Saturday that the infected cow was imported from Canada. A USA Today guest editorial by NCBA President Eric Davis is scheduled to run Monday, December 29.