The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last Wednesday that it was putting additional restrictions on the rendered remains of the condemned “downer” cow that was allowed to pass through a San Angelo, TX, processing facility without being tested for disease.
According to the agency, the only allowable use for the rendered remains is as an ingredient in swine feed. Other than that, FDA said the products from that cow must not become part of any other product.
“If it is not used in swine feed, this material will be destroyed,” an FDA official said. “Pigs have been shown not to be susceptible to BSE. If the firm agrees to use the material for swine feed only, FDA will track the material all the way through the supply chain, from the processor to the farm, to ensure that the feed is properly monitored and used only as feed for pigs.”
Under current regulations, ruminant by-products are restricted from inclusion in feed for cattle or other ruminants. Last week’s announcement by FDA goes beyond current regulations because the rendered products from the condemned cow will not be allowed in poultry feed, pet food, or other products, including garden fertilizer.
There is some fear that if the animal was infected with the disease, then chickens or plants could be an avenue of transmitting the disease agent into humans. The BSE form in humans is more commonly known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).
Early reports indicated the cow was approximately six years old, and was probably born around the time the ban on ruminant meat-and-bone meal (MBM) in ruminant feeds was implemented.
Other sources late last week told WLJ that the cow was more likely over 10 years of age, meaning she could have been fed ruminant MBM, which could have been infected with the disease-causing agent. — Steven D. Vetter, WLJ editor
