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Investigations by federal agencies with respect to a Texas cow that tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in June 2005 have boosted confidence that safeguards protecting the nation's food supply are working.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration (FDA), working in collaboration with the Texas Animal Health Commission and the Texas Feed and Fertilizer Control Service, released their findings Aug. 30.
According to the USDA-APHIS report, the infected animal, born and raised on a ranch in Texas, was a Brahman cross approximately 12 years old at the time of its death. It was born prior to the implementation of the 1997 feed ban instituted by FDA. The animal was sold through a livestock sale in November of 2004 and transported to a packing plant. The animal was dead upon arrival at the packing plant and was then shipped to a pet food plant where it was sampled for BSE. The plant did not use the animal in its product, and the carcass was destroyed in November 2004. During the course of the investigation, USDA removed and tested a total of 67 animals of interest from the farm where the index animal's herd originated. All of these animals tested negative for BSE. Two hundred adult animals of interest were determined to have left the index farm. Of these two hundred, APHIS officials determined that 143 had gone to slaughter, two were found alive (one was determined not to be of interest because of its age and the other tested negative), 34 are presumed dead, one is known dead and 20 have been classified as untraceable. In addition to the adult animals, APHIS was looking for two calves born to the index animal. Due to recordkeeping and identification issues, APHIS had to trace 213 calves. Of these 213 calves, 208 entered feeding and slaughter channels, four are presumed to have entered feeding and slaughter channels and one calf was untraceable (read more at www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html).
The Food and Drug Administration and the Texas Feed and Fertilizer Control Service determined that no feed or feed supplements used on the farm since 1997 were formulated to contain prohibited mammalian protein. Due to this finding, FDA has concluded that the animal was most likely infected prior to the 1997 BSE/ruminant feed rule.
The investigation into the disposition of herd mates from this farm involved visits to nine slaughter plants and eight rendering plants. A review of the inspection history of each of these rendering firms found no violations of the FDA feed ban rule (FDA report available at www.fda.gov/cvm/texasfeedrpt.htm).
In order to improve traceability of animals for various health reasons, USDA is preparing for implementation of a National Animal Identification System (NAIS). On Aug. 30, USDA also announced four guiding principles for development of a public/private partnership that enables the private sector to maintain animal movement data as part of the (NAIS):
•The system must be able to allow tracking of animals from point of origin to processing within 48 hours without unnecessary burden to producers and other stakeholders.
•The system's architecture must be developed without unduly increasing the size and role of government.
•The system must be flexible enough to utilize existing technologies and incorporate new identification technologies as they are developed.
•Animal movement data should be maintained in a private system that can be readily accessed when necessary by state and federal animal health authorities.
USDA solicited public input on NAIS through a variety of means including the formation of a special subcommittee under the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Foreign Animal and Poultry Diseases, a series of listening sessions across the country in 2004, and a thinking paper published for public comment in May 2005. Public response indicates there is widespread support for a system to rapidly trace potentially exposed animals in the event of an animal disease outbreak. A majority of producers who responded also favored a system that allows the animal movement data to be privately held.
USDA officials will be scheduling a stakeholder meeting this fall to clarify expectations for the private tracking system and discuss user requirements and system specifications. Once fully implemented, NAIS will enhance U.S. efforts to respond to intentionally or unintentionally introduced animal disease outbreaks more quickly and effectively. More information about NAIS is available at www.usda.gov/nais.
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