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WASHINGTON — USDA has issued a proposed rule amending its bovine spongiform encephalopathy regulations to relax restrictions against Canadian cattle and beef. Technically, the proposal would establish a new category of regions that recognizes those which the agency says present a "minimal risk" of introducing BSE into the United States via the importation of certain "low-risk" live ruminants and ruminant products. Its practical effect would be limited to easing import restrictions on Canadian cattle and beef, and a new case of BSE in Japan casts doubt on the wisdom of both existing Canadian beef import rules and the new proposal. The current and proposed rules are both predicated on the belief that cattle under 30 months of age are too young to be at risk from the supposedly slow-incubating BSE organism, but Japan’s two most recent BSE cases have been in animals significantly younger than 30 months. The latest case, detected Oct. 29 and confirmed Tuesday, was found in a 21 month-old bull. "The United States has a long history of having safeguards in place to prevent the introduction of BSE," said Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman in announcing the "minimal risk" rule proposal. "The continued protection of the U.S. food supply is our top priority. This proposal reflects a thorough review of the scientific evidence, which shows the risk to public health to be extremely low." That statement was issued before the latest "underage" Japanese BSE case was confirmed, but more than a month after a previous case cast doubt on the 30-month threshhold theory. Europe has also recorded three cases of BSE in animals less than 30 months old. The move nevertheless drew applause from the American Meat Institute, a packer organization whose members have been anxious to resume importation of Canadian cattle and heretofore banned beef products at prices currently far below those for their U.S. counterparts. Prices of Canadian cattle and beef have been severely depressed since the government banned their importation in late May, and U.S. cattle prices have soared in the interim. "The U.S. meat industry is gratified that USDA has taken another step toward full restoration of trade in cattle, beef and other products with Canada," said an AMI news release. "We are confident that the Canadian government has taken the necessary steps to assure that animal health is protected and that meat products are safe," the organization added. Some producer organizations protested the plan, however. The National Farmers Union said it opposes broadening Canadian beef access to the U.S. "until mandatory country of origin labeling has been fully implemented. NFU contends COOL is "necessary to protect our U.S. beef industry if BSE or other problems occur in the future." The group notes that "many countries with BSE documented cases have had additional outbreaks several months later." R-CALF USA charged that USDA’s proposal is "contrary to internationally accepted science." The group cites criteria recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health, the same body USDA cites as supporting its plan. "Among the (international body’s) scientifically based criteria for achieving a BSE minimal risk status is the requirement that a country that has had a BSE case in a native animal within the previous seven years must have enforced the ban on the feeding of ruminant byproducts for a period of eight years," notes R-CALF. "Canada’s ban on the feeding of ruminant byproducts was implemented only six years ago and, therefore, Canada does not comply with the internationally accepted criteria. "The USDA is attempting to bend the internationally accepted and scientifically-based rules in order for Canada to begin exporting live cattle into the United States," the producer group continues. "Because this exception is not accepted internationally, nor based on current science, the U.S. is putting both our export markets and the safety of our U.S. cattle herd at risk." R-CALF explains that the Canadian BSE investigation "revealed that Canada implemented its feed ban in 1997, and the BSE infected cow was reported to have been six to eight years old. This means the cow could well have contracted BSE after Canada’s feed ban was in place. "This should signal the United States to take additional precautions," R-CALF insists, "not relax the precautions already in place." USDA says the proposed rule is "consistent with the approach taken" by the World Organization for Animal Health. The agency cites "recent correspondence" from the international body contending that there has been an "increase in unjustified restrictions in international trade, particularly as it relates to cattle and cattle products." The letter was in response to a request from Veneman, Canadian Agricultural Minister Lyle Vanclief, Mexican Agriculture Secretary Javier Usabiaga. USDA’s proposed "minimal risk" designationn would include regions in which an animal has been diagnosed with BSE but in which specific preventive measures have been in place for an "appropriate" period of time. USDA contends that the surveillance, prevention and control measures implemented by Canada are sufficient to be included in the minimal risk category. The proposed rule has a 60-day comment period. Under the proposal, ruminant and ruminant products eligible for entry into the United States from a BSE minimal risk region would include: (1.) bovine animals less than 30 months of age for immediate slaughter; (2.) bovine animals for feeding to be moved to a designated feedlot and then to slaughter at less than 30 months of age; (3.) sheep and goats less than 12 months of age for immediate slaughter; (4.) sheep and goats for feeding to be moved to a designated feedlot and then to slaughter at less than 12 months of age; (5.) cervids for immediate slaughter; (6.) fresh (chilled or frozen) meat from bovines less than 30 months of age, including whole or half carcasses, livers and tongues, as well as meat from sheep or goats less than 12 months of age; (7.) hunter-harvested wild ruminant products; (8.) fresh (chilled or frozen) meat of cervids either farm-raised or harvested on a game farm or similar facility, as well as meat from wild-harvested caribou, musk ox, or other cervids; and (9.) certain types of gelatin, tallow and offal. A full listing of the risk mitigation measures required to be eligible for entry into the United States can be found at www.aphis.usda.gov/. Concurrent with its proposal, USDA also released the findings of a second assessment conducted by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis that it says confirms the findings of an initial study released in 2001. The study found that even if infected animals or ruminant feed material entered the U.S. animal agriculture system from Canada, the risk of it spreading extensively within the U.S. herd was low, that any possible spread would now have been reversed by controls put in place in the late 1990s, and that eventually, the disease would be eliminated from the United States. "This study shows that the measures taken in the United States over the years greatly reduce the chance of BSE spreading and help ensure that the disease will not become a major animal or public health problem in America," said Dr. George Gray, executive director of HCRA. The risk reassessment was commissioned by USDA shortly after the discovery of a case of BSE in Canada on May 20. It was intended to evaluate the potential for BSE to spread if it were introduced from Canada prior to May 20, when USDA banned all ruminant and ruminant products from Canada. A complete copy of the second Harvard report can be obtained from USDA's official website at www.usda.gov/. BSE is a progressive neurological disease among cattle that is always fatal. It belongs to a family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Also included in that family of illnesses is variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, which is believed to be caused by eating neural tissue, such as brain and spinal cord, from BSE-infected cattle. BSE has never been detected in U.S. cattle. USDA and other agencies have had preventive measures in place since recognition of BSE as a serious disease. Since 1989, USDA has banned the import of live ruminants, such as cattle, sheep and goats, and most ruminant products from the United Kingdom and other countries having BSE. The ban was extended to Europe in 1997. And, as more evidence was accumulated about how the disease spread, the Food and Drug Administration prohibited the use in 1997 of most mammalian protein in the manufacture of animal feed intended for cows and other ruminants. USDA also has had a BSE surveillance program in place since 1990 to ensure detection in the event that an introduction of BSE were to occur. Last year, USDA tripled testing levels and this year testing reached an all-time high of 20,526 head, or 47 times the level recommended by the OIE. |
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