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U.S. Will Strengthen Mad Cow Safeguards, FDA Chief Says

September 20, 2005
The U.S. will adopt feed regulations similar to those proposed in Canada, hoping to check the spread of mad-cow disease, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford told a Consumer Federation of America food policy conference.

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Canada proposes to ban the use of risky tissues, like brains and spinal cords, from all animal feed, not just cattle feed. The fatal brain inflammation is spread when animals eat the ground-up remains of infected animals.

Food-safety advocates have argued that the current protocol allows for transmission of the deadly disease back to cattle. Under current rules, if an infected cow's ground-up remains are fed to pigs, chickens or household pets, the remains of those animals could later be legally used as cattle feed.

There are also other potential pathways -- animal waste draining out of pens and being eaten by cattle grazing nearby, for example. It is thought that the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) protein that causes the disease can survive a trip through animals' digestive systems.

Crawford didn't say when the new rules will be issued.

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