1) In the first four months of this year, there were 1196 unannounced visits to abattoirs.2) There were 48 cases of deficiencies.
3) Not all of the deficiencies represented a risk to human or animal health, some were just incidents of poor record keeping.
4) There were four cases where spinal cord had not been fully removed from the spinal canal.
5) There has been no evidence of incomplete removal of cord since March 20th.
The Lancashire Evening Telegraph reports farmers 'cheat on mad cow controls.' East Lancashire consultant microbiologist, Dr Stephen Dealler, has condemned rogue farmers who evade controls against the spread of mad cow disease by forging certificates and bogus cattle tags. At least 1% of all cattle in England are infected and estimate range up to 10%.
Under the cull plan, agreed with Britain's EU partners, farmers will be compensated at a rate of 86p per kilogram liveweight, which will average at about £480 per animal destroyed. The EU will pay 70 per cent. This is roughly the market price dairy farmers would have got for the 15,000 barren old cows sent for slaughter every week at the end of their working lives. The carcasses will now be burnt.
Dairy farmers can sell milk from their cows. Their steers and heifers are eligible for sale as beef provided the animals are slaughtered before 30 months, which they normally would be. By contrast, beef farmers are estimated to have up to 100,000 prime steers and heifers for which there is now no market because the animals are older than 30 months. Many would go under if they were paid no more for these high-quality animals than the going rate for a worn-out dairy cow.
James Burnett, one of the biggest cattle farmers, has never had a case of BSE in the 1,400-strong herd of pedigree Charolais and Belgian Blue cattle he and his brother rear at Burridge Farm, near Newark, Nottinghamshire. In normal times, they kill up to 5,000 steers a year at between 33 and 34 months, the slaughter age for these Continental breeds, to supply beef to France and Italy. Since March 26, exports have been banned by the EU and the cattle are now too old to be sold for beef here.
"The cattle would normally fetch up to £1,100 each," Mr Burnett said. "If we are compensated at the same rate as for old dairy cows we would lose up to £400 per animal. As our profit margin is only £30 a head, we would be ruined. All our cattle are fed on vegetable waste and have never been given the kind of rations that caused BSE."
Copyright London Times ... 15 Apr 1996 ... by MICHAEL HORNSBY, agricultural correspondent
Full details are available (item 3) and any comment is welcome.
Copyright Lancaster Evening Telegraph ... 8 May 96
If the radio reports are correct, Specified Bovine Offals continue to enter the human food chain right to this day. I don't know to what extent, but it's definitely not * zero * BSE contamination of the human food chain today. I believe that your radio report was about a current study by Birmingham's City Council Environmental Health Department.
The report that made the news yesterday said that 5% (this is a gov. figure) of the slaughters houses were not complying with the new rules as of the first two months of this year...Sides of beef bearing gov. health inspections stamps had turned up in Manchester with specified offal not removed. the butcher in question said he had not noticed but it had gov. inspection stamps so what could he do?
Beef which doesn't contain any bones and nervous and lymphatic tissue, milk,and raw hide can be imported. Basically, if the requirements for proving proper processing and animal source, are met, APHIS will allow importation of UK beef. But it hasn't occured. My guess is we won't see it in the near future, either.
Bob Stevenson, the president of the British Veterinary Association, said that some farmers might be tempted to extract teeth from mature cattle to make them appear young enough to qualify for human consumption.
Scientists predict that hundreds of cattle will still be dying every year from BSE at the turn of the century. Researchers at Oxford University's zoology department claim that from 1996 to 1999 between 15,000 and 24,000 cattle will develop the disease because of failure to enforce controls on contaminated feed.
Among signatories to their warning letter in the science journal Nature is Sir Richard Southwood, former vice-chancellor of the university, who produced the first report on BSE for the Government in 1989. The Agriculture Ministry said that since March, when banned parts of bovine carcasses were still turning up in cattle feed, surveillance had been increased. A spokesman said 40 high-risk feed mills were being inspected every week and another 260 mills every month.
It concerns all products containing materials of bovine origin, whatever it is. Such products cannot be imported, sold, or used within a clinical investigation, unless they are mentionned in the list of products approved by the official microbiological safety group. The decree is signed on may 03,1996, and bears the number 962173. Any request can be submitted to : ministere du travail - fax:33-1-40.56.53.45
1. Hides from the cull animals will not be destroyed but will be used in what ever way hides are used.
2. Someone asked the question, "was the minister" aware that in the 1980's cattle which were diagnosed as having bse were buried in land fills.
The minister was aware of this and one of his under secretaries answered that on the current scientific advice there were no plans to dispose of these animals properly since the infectious agent did not survive in the ground. This he said was based on the best advice available to the government.
Government ministers are also to hold talks later in the week with veterinary surgeons over their refusal to help to identify cattle under this age unless they are paid to carry out proper checks on the animals. Bob Stevenson, president of the British Veterinary Association, said yesterday that government "penny-pinching" was threatening to undermine assurances that only animals younger than 30 months, which scientists regard as the least likely to be infected with BSE were being killed for food.
"We are being asked to sign, effectively to rubber-stamp, documentary evidence produced by farmers without having a chance to see the animals," he said. "Farm records are notoriously unreliable."
Mr Baldry will meet abattoir owners and auctioneers today. Auctioneers are angry because farmers will get up to £100 an animal more in compensation if they send their over-age bullocks direct to an abattoir than if they send the cattle to slaughter via an auction market and are paid liveweight. They complain markets will lose business as a result.
Testing of nearly 200 ground beef samples gathered at random from retailers around the state showed fewer violations than three years ago-- the last time the Oregon Department of Agriculture tested ground beef for fat content. ODA's Food Safety Division periodically checks samples to make sure that the fat content statement on the label of the package is accurate.
If the percentage of fat or category of ground beef stated on the label differs from lab testing, the retailer is in violation. "Out of 195 samples, we have found 18 violations or a violation rate of about 9%,"says McKay. "Compared to what we saw a couple of years ago when we had a violation rate of 22%, this doesn't appear to be as much of a problem."
Regular ground beef has a maximum fat content of 30%. Lean ground beef has a maximum of 22% fat. Extra lean ground beef has a maximum of 16% fat. Anything exceeding those specific levels is a violation.
Most of this year's violations deal with the actual number printed on the label. As an example, one sample labeled 9% fat content has been confirmed by testing to contain nearly 14% fat. Although that product can still be identified as extra lean ground beef, the label is misleading and it is considered a violation.
Irish Conceal BSE Outbreak to Protect Lucrative Exports
Sunday London Times 5 May 1996
"The Irish government deliberately broke European Union (EU) rules by failing to inform Brussels officials of the latest incidence of BSE, detected in Cork three weeks ago, it was claimed this weekend, writes Valerie Hanley.
The claim was made by senior EU sources, who said the effected animal was not disposed of properly and that the department of agriculture failed to destroy adequately all other animals in the herd.
Officials from the department failed to carry out post mortem examinations on the entire herd, despite assurances given by, Ivan Yates, the agriculture minister, in January. The department said post mortems were not needed because the cattle were not destined for consumption.
The Sunday Times has also learnt that another case of BSE in a herd at a North Tipperary farm was reported to the department in February. officials ordered the slaughter of all 250 animals, but the case has yet to appear in official statistics.
News of the latest BSE case comes as an embarrassment to Yates, who strongly criticized the handling of the BSE crisis in Britain. he claimed last week that the BSE scare had been caused by British incompetence and said that there should be " a complete depopulation of high risk herds"
The new case in Cork is the 11th this year. It was diagnosed three weeks ago, when Yates and the food board, were launching a large promotional campaign to reassure consumers that beef was safe.
The campaign resulted in the lifting of a Egyptian import ban on Irish beef, worth (pounds sterling) 300 m each year, and moves by officials to resume live exports to Iran and Libya worth up to (pounds sterling) 100 m.
Iran banned Irish beef after the Sunday Times exposed an international ring that sold ear tags and blank health certificates which could have allowed unscrupulous dealers to export infected animals.
The case in Cork emerged when the Sunday Times made inquiries on Friday about recent BSE cases. The infected animal was buried at the farm and up to 183 other cattle in the herd were killed at an abattoir normally used to process meat for family butchers. the carcasses of the animals were sent to a rendering plant, where body parts were crushed and heated before being put in storage pending final disposal.
This process contradicts statements made by Yates in January, when he said all animals which might have the disease in herds where bse was diagnosed would be given rigorous post mortem brain tests.
Each incidence of bse should be reported to the European Commission and a spokesman for the agricultural department said yesterday that the commission had been notified promptly about the Cork case.
A spokesman for Franz Fischler, the EU agricultural commissioner, said yesterday that he had, however, been unaware of the recent BSE case until he was contacted by the Sunday Times. Officials had immediately contacted the agriculture department in Dublin and asked why it had failed to report the outbreak.
"Member states are obliged to notify the commission about BSE and we are very annoyed about Ireland's behavior,: he said. "look what happened when the UK concealed information"
Dr. Alan Long, a bio- and organic chemist with Britain's vegetarian economy and green agriculture agency (vega), said yesterday the way the animals had been disposed of was "unsafe and risky". the safest way to destroy cattle from a herd where bse had been diagnosed was to slaughter them in special, dedicated abattoirs. Long's recommendation coincide with the practice followed by the british agriculture ministry.
"If you really want to get rid of BSE you would cremate the animals," said Long. "if you slaughter the animal in an abattoir where other work is carried out, their is a danger of cross contamination." There is also a risk of contaminating water supplies when animals were buried.
"Irelands cattle kill was disastrously down by over 80% on pre-British Mad Cow BSE levels this week. Last night, beef industry statistics revealed that less then 5,000 cattle were processed at Irish plants-- a staggering 85 % less than average processing levels three weeks ago.
Before the British crisis erupted on March 27 last, Irish beef plants were slaughtering an average of 30,000 cattle per week. Within just seven days, that through put had dropped to just 12,000 head- with this weeks paltery 5,300 head kill representing the biggest ever decline at Irish slaughter plants.
On 24 April 1996, beef processors and cattle exporters admitted that Ireland faces "a chaotic scramble" to cope with the estimated 50,000 finishing cattle that are already stored on Irish farms." The reason for this is not that the sales of beef are down here. We export 85% of our beef and these international markets have been closed to us since March 20. As a result with no markets there is no point slaughtering cattle.
JOHN MAJOR promised a speedy investigation yesterday after a chaotic start to the £630 million cattle slaughter scheme. Farmers, abattoirs and livestock auctioneers said they had no clear guidelines, and Tony Blair described the launch as inept.
The Labour leader said in the Commons: "People say that there are insufficient collection centres, that there may be inadequate capacity for incinerating the carcasses and that many farmers appear to be in the dark both about the details of compensation and how it is actually going to operate."
The Prime Minister replied: "I have already made my own inquiries to make sure that such information as is necessary is distributed and made available to farmers speedily. This is a very large scheme. It's going to involve the slaughter of 15,000 to 20,000 animals a week.
"The scheme is finalised and we moved immediately to make sure that farmers had the information they needed. Most of them should have. If some haven't, that is now being examined and investigated and I hope they will have it very speedily."
Douglas Hogg, the Agriculture Minister, said in the Commons on Wednesday that the slaughter of cattle over 30 months old, regarded as crucial for restoring consumer confidence in beef, would start yesterday. Alison Best of the National Farmers' Union said: "There is huge confusion. Farmers took Mr Hogg at his word and started contacting abattoirs and livestock markets this morning but were told to stay away.
"Once the scheme does get up and running, which might be next week, there is going to be chaos without some procedure for rationing access to slaughterhouses. At the moment it looks as if there will be a free-for-all, which would be disastrous."
Paul Gentry, a senior auctioneer at the Newark-on-Trent market in Nottinghamshire, said: "The situation is farcical. Mr Hogg seems to be totally out of touch with reality. We still do not know where to send cattle for slaughter, on which days, or how we will be paid. Many beef farmers in my area are at their wits' end, with feeding costs mounting daily for cattle they cannot sell."
An abattoir owner, Peter Bowyer of Hatherleigh, Devon, said: "We have got only the sketchiest idea how the scheme will work. Crucial details, such as the slaughter fee we will be paid and where we will send the carcasses, are still being negotiated with the Ministry of Agriculture."
Ian Gardiner, the NFU's chief policy director, said: "The total backlog of over-age cattle awaiting slaughter on farms could now amount to at least 150,000 animals. We simply do not know the exact figure. But it will take several months just to clear this log-jam. It is vital that the slaughter starts soon."
Tony Baldry, the junior Agriculture Minister, said that ministers and officials had been working hard to set up the slaughter scheme. The rate at which animals could be killed was limited by the capacity of abattoirs and rendering plants. He added: "Not all these animals can be slaughtered overnight. Why every farmer is complaining is that they want to try and ensure their cattle are among the first slaughtered. This has to be done in an ordered way that has regard to the welfare of the livestock."
Beef farmers are insisting that they should get priority. Dairy farmers are under less pressure because they can go on selling milk from their cows until slaughter and the compensation they will receive an average of about £480 a head is similar to the market price they would have fetched.
The decision to keep cattle over 30 months old out of the food chain was taken more than a month ago with the backing of the European Union and the retail trade. These animals are considered at greater risk of being infected with BSE or "mad cow' disease.
'Mad cow' slaughter off to slow start
May 2, 1996
BANBURY, England (CNN) -- Efforts to begin slaughtering cows linked to the so-called "mad cow" disease got off to a rocky start Thursday, sparking renewed criticism that Prime Minister John Major's government was dragging its feet on the issue.
No cows have been killed yet, though the government says the program is officially under way and Agriculture Minister Douglas Hogg said the slaughter would likely start Thursday.
The British government wants to keep cattle older than 30 months from entering the food chain. Its plan to deal with the mad cow crisis includes a voluntary cull of older cattle.
The government's plan calls for markets to be used as collection centers. Farmers will bring their cattle in on designated days, the market will reimburse the farmer and in turn, the government will reimburse the market.
But Major's opponents have criticized the plan. "At the moment, it appears pretty inept," Tony Blair, leader of the opposition Labor Party, said in the House of Commons.
Farmers are not too thrilled, either. Farmer Brian Smith says he is totally in the dark about the plan. "I just don't know how they work the figures out and I don't follow their reasoning at all through the whole system," he said.
Farmer Sue Fraser says she thinks the slaughter is only to appease the European Union, which has imposed a ban on British beef.
She and other farmers, many of who face financial ruin, say reimbursement will help but not really compensate for the loss of a herd.
The government expects that some 42,000 cows with possible links to BSE will be slaughtered in coming months. In addition, up to 15,000 older cattle a week may be slaughtered.
The animals will be killed with a special pistol. The cattle will then be ground up and either incinerated or buried, said Jean Auty, a spokeswoman for Britain's Intervention Board, which is handling the slaughter.
Many farmers are bitter about the impending slaughter of healthy cattle, but, at the same time, fear even that will not be enough to bring back consumer confidence -- at home and abroad.
The embattled industry got a minor boost Thursday when the hamburger chain Wimpy said it would put British beef back on the menu. But Burger King and McDonald's say they are not about to follow suit, yet.
CNN Correspondent Margaret Lowrie and Reuters contributed to this copyrighted report.
BY MICHAEL HORNSBY Farmers angry at continuing beef ban
The Times: Britain: 2 May 1996 DOUGLAS HOGG faced growing anger and frustration from the farming community yesterday over his failure to make clear progress on getting the European Union ban on British beef exports lifted.Milk producers said they feared the Agriculture Minister would be forced to agree to a much bigger cull of prime dairy cattle than the limited slaughter of up to 42,000 animals he proposed at his meeting with EU counterparts this week in Luxembourg. Animal welfare campaigners joined farmers in criticising the Government for delays in starting the compensated slaughter and disposal of cattle over 30 months old which can no longer be sold for food.
During the past five weeks at least 150,000 cattle above the age limit are estimated to have accumulated on farms, a figure that is increasing by up to 20,000 every week. Many farmers are desperate to get rid of these animals and receive some payment for them.
Mr Hogg insisted yesterday that he had "put in place a process that could lead to the lifting of the [export] ban". He also claimed there had been "no substantive criticisms" in Luxembourg of his proposal for culling dairy cattle most at risk of developing BSE but admitted he had agreed to "listen to constructive suggestions" for tougher measures.
Sir David Naish, president of the National Farmers' Union, said: "We cannot afford to have the EU's politicians indulging in a step-by-step approach whilst the livelihoods of farmers and others in the meat trade are on the brink of disaster."
High-risk parts of beef carcasses, including thymus glands and spinal nerves, are still turning up in butchers' shops, a survey in Birmingham says. The city's consumer department said the parts were found in seven shops which had bought the meat with a health guarantee. Slaughterhouse veterinary inspectors who passed the beef as BSE-free may now be prosecuted.
A man in his 50s who died recently at Rochdale, is the latest victim of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, health chiefs said yesterday.
Status of Cattle and Ruminant Imports from the United Kingdom
ASIAJapan
March 27
A ban on imports of British beef products (sausage, ham, bacon), heated meat and organs, bovine semen, bone meal from ruminats etc.
A ban on imports of North Irelands beef, organs, sausag, ham, bacon, heat processed meat and organs.
Since 1951, Japan banned importation of British beef and organs.
Since 1990, Japan banned importation of British live cattle.Singapore
March 26
A ban on imports of British beefSouth Korea
March 22
A temporary ban on imports of British beef and beef products April 2
A ban on imports of pharmaceuticals and its material which contain bovine tissues and componentThailand
March 28 A ban on imports of beef, beef products and dairy products from the U.K.Philippines
March 26
Request of voluntary ban on imports of British beef(restriction)
AMERICAS:U.S.A
End of March
The provisional ban on the importation of bovine semen and embryo had been considered.
Since 1989, APHIS has banned the importation from BSE affcted countries. live cattle, beef derived from cattle which were fed materials originated from ruminants products(includ canned food) bone meal, blood meal, meat meal, offal, fats, glands and serum other products derived from ruminants, such as gelatine, amniotic fluid, placenta fluid, serum albumin, whey and pet food. Beef which doesn't contain any bones and nervous and lymphatic tissue, milk,and raw hide can be imported.
Apr 19
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced changes today to import requirements for sheep and goats and sheep and goat germ plasm to prevent the importation of animals or genetic material affected with the disease scrapie. NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet. Access the USDA Home Page.Canada
March 28
A ban on importation of bovine semen and embryo from the U.K In 1990,Canada banned importation of British live cattle. There were no designated slaughterhouses to ship U.K.beef to Canada. Therefore actually beef and beef products are banned on importation. Meat and bone meal is banned too. In 1990,one dairy cattle imported from the U.K.has developed BSE and was destroyed. British imported cattle from 1982 to 1990 and offspring, a total of 363 cattle were destroyed and incinerated.
OCEANIA:Australia
March 29
A ban on importation and sale of British beef products(soup and haggis) with the exception of gelatin, casing, TV dinner, chocolate and dairy products. Since 1989,live cattle, bovine semen, embryo, feed has been banned on import. No beef has been imported. Canned beef or beef flavor can be imported.New Zealand
March 26
Provisional ban on importation of live cattle, sheep semen, embryo and edible products from cattle.
March 27
Information to WTO secretariat.
No beef has been imported.
In 1988,British live cattle was banned.
In 1989,British semen was banned.
EUROPE:France
March 21
A ban on importation of British cattle, beef and beef products. Recently BSE was identified in 3 farms in Bretagne, 80 cattle(March 11), 151 cattle (March 25),125 cattle (April 1)were destroyed. (In May 1990 a ban on importation of British beef Afterwards ,according to the EU committee dicision, import ban was lifted. However, products of ruminant tissue and offal, brain, spinal cord, thymus, tonsils, spleen,intestines and placenta of more than 6 months cattle, cultured cell,serum, fetal bovine serum ,adrenal glands, testis ,ovary, and pituitarium were banned.Denmark
March27
A ban on importation of British beef and beef products(live cattle, beef, semen, embryo ,ovum, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics,meat and bone meal of mammal)Austria March 6:
Temporary measures of Switzerland beef
March 22:
A ban on importation of British beef (live cattle, meal, dryed feed, canned feed, feed material, instrument, for instpecion, dry or raw bone, horn,hoof, skin, tendon, cartilage, fur, intestines, stomachs, bladder, throat, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, fat for food and cosmetics, raw or salted or dryed hide )Ireland
March 27
A ban on importation of British beef and beef products(live cattle,beef, semen embryo, ovum, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, meat and bone meal of mammal.)Sweden
March 28
A ban on importation of food, skin, powder(meal)
Prohibirion of other products such as pharmaceuticals had been considered.Germany
March 30
A ban on importation of live cattle and beef from Switzerland
A ban on importation of foods and cosmetics that contain materials from cattle
A ban on use of materials from cattle to make pharmaceuticals
A ban on sale of pharmaceuticals that contain materials from cattle
Netherlands
March 21
A ban on importation and sale of British beef (include for food and non food )
March 22:
Request of voluntary ban on import and sale of beef from Switzerland March 27:
64,000 British calves are to be destroyed.Spain
March 22:
A ban on importation of British beef for food and beefproducts Italy
March 22:
A ban on importation of beef products.Luxembourg
March 22:
A ban on importation and sale of British beef March 25:
A ban on importation and sale of live cattle, and beef products March 27
A ban on importation and sale of cattle products (include pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, medical tools)Portugal
March 22:
A ban on importation of British beef Norway
March 26:
Temporary ban on importation of British and beef products.
Ovine Scrapie from the 1994 FAO-OIE-WHO Animal Health Yearbook
BSE affected countries
- FRANCE
- REPUBLIC OF IRELAND,
- OMAN,
- SWITZERLAND,
- UNITED KINGDOM
- PORTUGAL
REASON FOR ALERT
: BSE has been identified in more than 100,000 cattle in the United Kingdom and, to a much lesser extent, in several other countries (France, Republic of Ireland, Oman, Portugal and Switzerland). BSE has not been diagnosed in the United States. This neurological disease is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) and is similar to other TSEs such as scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease (CJD) in humans. The spongiform encephalopathies are uniformly fatal and no rapid diagnostic test for infection in living animals or humans is presently available. Current scientific information indicates that the causative agent is extremely resistant to inactivation by normal disinfection or sterilization procedures. A range of research projects into the exact nature of both the BSE agent and other TSE agents, host range, patterns of pathogenicity, and development of rapid ante mortem diagnostic tests is ongoing.Since 1991, USDA has prohibited the importation into the U.S. of certain tissues and organs from ruminants from countries where BSE exists (BSE-countries: United Kingdom, France, Republic of Ireland, Oman, Portugal and Switzerland - refer to 9 CFR 94.18). USDA's regulations are intended to protect livestock in the United States from contracting TSEs and address known or strongly suspected modes of transmission. The USDA regulations permit, under certain conditions, the importation of some cosmetic ingredients (i.e., collagen, collagen products, amniotic liquids or extracts, placental liquids or extracts, serum albumin, and serocolostrum) derived from ruminants from BSE-countries (see 9 CFR 95.4).
The USDA regulations do not apply to imports of: o cosmetic products that are packaged and ready for sale; o bovine-derived materials intended for human consumption as either finished dietary supplement products or for use as ingredients in dietary supplements; or o human food (except meat, i.e., skeletal muscle). Documented transmission of the causative agents of BSE or scrapie to humans has not been reported to date. The FDA has recommended that manufacturers who use bovine by-products voluntarily investigate the geographic source(s) of any bovine or ovine material used in their products (generally neural or glandular tissue or tissue extracts). The Agency also suggested that each manufacturer develop a plan "to assure, with a high degree of certainty," that such materials are not from BSE-countries, as identified by USDA's APHIS, or from scrapie-infected sheep flocks, either foreign or domestic.
FDA now considers further protective steps to be reasonable and, in an August 17, 1994 letter (Attachment B), recommended that manufacturers and importers of dietary supplements, cosmetic products, and raw materials for these finished products develop plans for ensuring, with a high degree of certainty, that specific bovine-derived materials from BSE-countries are not being used.
Attachment A is an expanded list of those tissues presenting the highest known risk of infectivity, e.g., high-risk tissue, which are the subject of this import alert. Additional tissues may be added to this list as studies warrant and this import alert will be revised accordingly.
FDA will be gathering information on the development of BSE plans for all bovine- derived tissues and documenting the use of high-risk tissue from BSE-countries during domestic inspections under both the cosmetics and dietary supplements compliance programs.
Due to the difficulty in verifying the presence of high risk tissues in finished dietary supplements or cosmetic products, this import alert is limited to bulk lots of these tissues from BSE-countries.
FDA is not, at this time, recommending restrictions on the use of ovine-derived (sheep) materials since the epidemiological evidence now appears convincing that scrapie is not related to TSEs in humans.
GUIDANCE : Districts may detain the shipment without physical examination, if the high-risk bovine tissue or ingredient, as listed in Attachment A, originated from one of the six (6) following countries: United Kingdom, France, Republic of Ireland, Oman, Portugal and Switzerland.
*** If an entry is detained and the importer or manufacturer has not provided within sixty (60) days documentation that establishes that the bovine derived tissue used in the product came from BSE-free cattle or from a non BSE country, districts should attempt to determine the status of the entry and, where possible, reach a final determination as to the entry. Sixty (60) days should be ample time for an importer or manufacturer to provide such documentation.
Districts may provide a copy of the Agency's August 17, 1994 letter (Attachment B) to importer's for their use in developing plans to assure that future shipments of bovine tissues are obtained from non-BSE countries.
For any issues and/or questions regarding science, science policy, sample collection, analyses, preparation, analytical methodology or confirmation tests, districts should contact the Division of Field Science at 301- 443-3320 or 443-3007.
PREPARED BY : Linda Wisniowski, DIOP, 301-443-6553 and Frank Sikorsky, DFPPE/Import Programs Branch, 202- 205-4606
ATTACHMENT A
>HIGH-RISK BOVINE TISSUE AND TISSUE-DERIVED INGREDIENTS
- Adrenal gland
- Bone marrow
- Brain
- Brain extract
- Cerebellum
- Cerebrospinal fluid
- Cranial nerves
- Colon (proximal and distal)
- Dura mater
- Eye
- Hypothalamus
- Ileum
- Lymph nodes
- Nasal mucosa
- Olfactory bulb or gland
- Pineal gland
- Pituitary gland
- Placenta
- Spinal cord
- Spleen
- Suprarenal gland
- Tonsil
Appendix A: List of Tissues With Suspected Infectivity
- Category I (High infectivity)
- brain
- spinal cord
- Category II (Medium infectivity)
- ileum
- lymph nodes
- proximal colon
- spleen
- tonsil
- dura mater
- pineal gland
- placenta
- cerebrospinal fluid
- xpituitary gland
- adrenal gland
- Category III (Low infectivity)
- distal colon
- nasal mucosa
- sciatic nerve
- bone marrow
- liver
- lung
- pancreas
- thymus gland