[Jacob-list] BSE update

[Neal and Louise Grose]

    Reports on BSE from national news services have been of very limited value over the last few weeks. I have received a number of dairy industry newsletters over the last few days with more specific and relevant information and thought I would write up a summary of current information on BSE. 

1) It is almost certain that all livestock will move to a universal tagging and tracking system. This will be similar to the current Scrapie Eradication Program. If the BSE Positive Index Cow from Washington State (henceforth:The Cow) and her herdmates from Canada were registered with the Canadian Holstein Association, and transferred to the American Holstein Association, then all the animals from that herd have been or will be located, if they are still alive.

2) The 400+ calves that were destroyed were from a veal farm. These included the male calf from The Cow. Male calves are practically never tagged. (That may change.) Such calves are considered near zero risk for transmitting BSE because a) it has not been demonstrated that dam/calf transmission can occur, b) calves do not have time to serve as a multiplier for the disease, therefore the transmission is limited. (You may compare this to the failure of mosquitoes to transmit HIV: No multiplication of disease organisms = not a transmitter for that disease.)

3) Despite amazingly vague statements from authorities: The 129 cows to be destroyed as announced over the weekend are from the herd in Washington where The Cow has lived for the last few years. Keep in mind that The Cow is thought to have contracted the disease as a calf prior to 1997. With any luck, some of the other cows in this herd are also from the importation from Canada, and we will get a clearer picture of the spread of the disease. About 80 cows from the herd of origin in Canada were imported to the United States, 2/3 of these can be presumed to have already been culled or died. The rest are more than likely awaiting public scrutiny to determine their fate. From what I have read, I think that those herds are already in quarantine. Continued public inquiry about BSE will mean that they will be located and the herds they are in will be depopulated. It is a huge negative photo op to have 37 cattle trailers lined up at the entrance to a farm waiting to haul the herd to slaughter. This must viewed as necessary for consumer confidence, yet is a tragedy for those farms that have spent years developing these herds. ("Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.")

4) Public awareness of BSE rose from 61% to 96% between September and January. Consumer confidence in the U.S. beef supply ROSE from 88% to 89% in this same time period. Beef exports from the U.S. have fallen off the face of the earth. The United States exports choice beef and imports mostly hamburger.

5) Despite being on vacation and not having access to knowledgeable staff, various members of Congress have fired off press releases with their ideas for insuring the food supply.  The most stringent of these would mandate testing of all animals slaughtered for food and retaining carcasses of these animals until results of these tests are resolved. The additional cost of this program would be in excess of an one billion dollars per year.

6) USDA tested more than 20,500 cows for BSE last year. Most of these were "downer cows" which would have the greatest chance of demonstrating signs of the disease. "Downer cow" is a designation which covers any number of conditions. This may include cows with a more traditional infection, lame, suffering from metabolic problems, or showing neurological symptoms.  Sick or treated cows have never been considered suitable for human consumption. Lame cows have been considered on a case by case basis, but are now excluded as well. 

7) In the future, any cow tested for BSE will be held pending outcome of the test. Skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, vertebral column, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of cattle 30 months of age or older and the small intestine of all cattle are specified risk materials, thus prohibiting their use in the human food supply.  Tonsils from all cattle are already considered inedible and therefore do not enter the food supply. I am especially happy about the tonsils.

Advanced Meat Recovery (AMR) is a technology that removes muscle tissue from the bone of beef carcasses under high pressure without incorporating bone material. AMR product can be labeled as "meat." FSIS has previously established and enforced regulations that prohibit spinal cord from being included in products labeled as "meat." The inclusion of dorsal root ganglia (clusters of nerve cells connected to the spinal cord along the vertebral column) effectively excludes the spinal column for use in AMR. 

8) To ensure that portions of the brain are not dislocated into the tissues of the carcass as a consequence of humanely stunning cattle during the slaughter process, FSIS is issuing a rule to ban the practice of air-injection stunning. Reports did not mention what methods of stunning cattle will be allowed. 

I hope this starts to clear up some of the lingering questions about Mad Cow Disease, and the ridiculous news by sound bite that we have come to expect from TV news.

Neal Grose

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