Fw: Investigators: Mad Cow Rules Lax ..CFD many of the victims have it all ready

[Guest guest]

MM Comments: I'm learning to love meat less & less!

----- Original Message ----- From: ParfumGigi@...

BreastImplantNews@...

Cc: MAM-NSIF@...

Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2002 12:03 AM

Subject: Investigators: Mad Cow Rules Lax ..CFD many of the victims have it all ready

Investigators: Mad Cow Rules Lax

Tue Feb 26, 4:19 PM ET By PHILIP BRASHER, AP Farm Writer WASHINGTON - Mad cow disease could slip into the country and infect cattle herds because of weaknesses in import controls and lax enforcement of animal feed rules, congressional investigators warned Tuesday. The government bans the import of meat and livestock from countries where mad cow disease has been found, and prohibits the feeding of meat and bone meal to U.S. cattle. But a report issued by the General Accounting Office says the Food and Drug Administration failed to take action against feed mills and other firms that violate rules associated with the feed ban and has never identified all the businesses that should be inspected. Moreover, FDA's database of inspection records is so "is so severely flawed" that "it should not be used to assess compliance," the investigators said. Their report also says that imports of meat and other products that can carry the disease could be entering the country through mail or cargo due to mislabeled shipments and a shortage of inspectors. "The continuing absence of (mad cow disease) in the United States today cannot be sufficiently ensured by current federal prevention efforts," the report said. Mad cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is linked to a brain-wasting disease in humans and has killed about 100 people in Europe. The disease is believed to spread through eating brain or nerve tissue from infected animals. FDA outlawed the feeding of mammalian meat and bone meal to cattle, sheep and goats in 1997 and imposed a series of rules on record keeping, labeling and handling of feed. Agency officials said Tuesday they have increased their inspections of firms that violate the rules and are replacing the agency's record keeping system this spring. The feed ban "has received widespread support in all aspects of the animal feed industry and the meat industry. They all recognize what the implications are for noncompliance," said Murray Lumpkin, senior associate commissioner at FDA. A Harvard University study last year said it was "extremely unlikely" that mad cow could ever take hold in U.S. herds, mainly because of the ban on feeding them meat and bone meal. However, the researchers said there are additional steps that would significantly reduce the risk to cattle and human health even more, including more restrictions on animal feed and meat processing. Food companies became concerned about compliance with the feed ban last year began requiring meat processors to certify that the cattle were not given prohibited feed. Slaughterhouses, in turn, started requiring similar paperwork from their cattle suppliers. As of last October, FDA had inspected 10,576 firms and found 364 out of compliance with the feed rules. In some cases, firms that broke the rules have not been inspected again for a year or more, the GAO report said. FDA is now inspecting those firms at least once every six months, Lumpkin said. The report also said that the Agriculture Department needs to increase its testing of cattle for the disease, particularly for animals that die while still on a farm. The department plans to increase its testing from 5,000 to 12,500 cattle a year. USDA also is considering banning the sale of brains and certain types of beef from cattle considered at risk for getting the illness. Sen. Durbin, D-Ill., plans to introduce legislation to tighten federal regulation of animal feed and meat processing. He requested the GAO report along with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa and the panel's ranking Republican, Lugar of Indiana. "It has become clear through the experiences of European countries and through GAO's investigation that mad cow disease presents a threat to public health in this country," Durbin said. Boyle, president of the American Meat Institute, said the GAO report "misinterprets, or simply ignores the effectiveness of measures already taken" by the government. gigi ..Moo bad news for all individuals especially those, with compromised immune systems like silicone victims. http://story.news./news?tmpl=story & cid=534 & u=/ap/20020226/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_mad_cow_6