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From: TSS ()
An Economic Chronology of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in North America Kenneth H. Mathews, Jr., Monte Vandeveer, and Ronald A. Gustafson Abstract The first confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada and the United States had significant effects on trade and prices of U.S. cattle and beef. However, these incidents occurred during a period of low U.S. beef supplies, near-record beef prices, and strong domestic demand for beef that was largely unshaken by the BSE announcement. Also, U.S. reliance on beef and cattle exports, roughly 10 percent of production, was not so great as to cause burdensome increases in domestic supplies. Increased regulations, however, imposed additional costs on beef production and processing sectors. Canadian cattle and beef are now able to enter the United States, though with some restrictions. U.S. beef exports to Japan resumed for a short time beginning in December 2005 but have been suspended since January 20, 2006. ... snip... see full text 18 pages ; http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ldp/2006/06Jun/ldpm14301/ldpm14301.pdf Suppressed peer review of Harvard study October 31, 2002 http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/topics/BSE_Peer_Review.pdf Mad Cow Disease: An Evaluation of a Small Feed Testing Program FDA http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-157R [2] [GAO-05-101 ] Mad Cow Disease: FDA's Management of the Feed Ban Has Improved, but Oversight Weaknesses Continue to Limit Program Effectiveness http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/useftp.cgi?IPaddress=162.140.64.88&filename=d05101.txt&directory=/diskb/wais/data/gao https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/regpublic.nsf/0/eff9eff1f7c5cf2b87256ecf000df08d?OpenDocument 03-025IF 03-025IF-631 Linda A. Detwiler [PDF] http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/03-025IF/03-025IF-631.pdf Specified Risk Materials (SRMs) I am in full support of the interim final rule which prohibits SRMs from being included in food for human consumption. In addition to the list of tissues published in this rule, I am requesting that additional tissues be added to the list. These would include dura ("sheath") covering the spinal cord and the ENTIRE INTESTINE (from pylorus to rectum). The scientific justification is provided below. THESE SRMs should also be prohibited from ANY FDA regulated food or product intended for human consumption, including but not limited to flavorings, extracts, etc. ... Dr. Linda Detwiler comments in full; http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/03-025IF/03-025IF-634.pdf EFSA Scientific Report on the Assessment of the Geographical BSE-Risk (GBR) of the United States of America (USA) Report The European Food Safety Authority and its Scientific Expert Working Group on the Assessment of the Geographical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Risk (GBR) were asked by the European Commission (EC) to provide an up-to-date scientific report on the GBR in the United States of America, i.e. the likelihood of the presence of one or more cattle being infected with BSE, pre-clinically as well as clinically, in USA. This scientific report addresses the GBR of USA as assessed in 2004 based on data covering the period 1980-2003. The BSE agent was probably imported into USA and could have reached domestic cattle in the middle of the eighties. These cattle imported in the mid eighties could have been rendered in the late eighties and therefore led to an internal challenge in the early nineties. It is possible that imported meat and bone meal (MBM) into the USA reached domestic cattle and leads to an internal challenge in the early nineties. A processing risk developed in the late 80s/early 90s when cattle imports from BSE risk countries were slaughtered or died and were processed (partly) into feed, together with some imports of MBM. This risk continued to exist, and grew significantly in the mid 90’s when domestic cattle, infected by imported MBM, reached processing. Given the low stability of the system, the risk increased over the years with continued imports of cattle and MBM from BSE risk countries. EFSA concludes that the current GBR level of USA is III, i.e. it is likely but not confirmed that domestic cattle are (clinically or pre-clinically) infected with the BSE-agent. As long as there are no significant changes in rendering or feeding, the stability remains extremely/very unstable. Thus, the probability of cattle to be (pre-clinically or clinically) infected with the BSE-agent persistently increases. Publication date: 20 August 2004 http://www.efsa.eu.int/science/tse_assessments/gbr_assessments/573_it.html TSS
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