- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration will propose new safeguards to protect
livestock feed from mad cow disease later this year, after it gathers more
information, senior officials said on Friday.
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- The agency issued a notice asking the public to comment
on whether it should ban all animal protein from cattle feed, as well as
several other questions. Mad cow disease is believed to be spread when
the remains of infected animals are recycled into other products.
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- The public comments are due next month.
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- Separately the FDA, which is part of the Health and Human
Services Department, proposed long-delayed rules that will close loopholes
that might have allowed infected materials from cattle to seep into the
human food supply.
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- Both sets of measures were initially announced in January,
soon after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was found in a Washington
state dairy cow.
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- "Although our current rules are strong, when it
comes to public health and safety we cannot be content with the status
quo," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.
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- The FDA said it has reached a "preliminary conclusion"
to ban material from the brain, skull and spine from cattle 30 months and
older in all animal feed. Officials are currently working on drafting a
proposal to accomplish this.
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- However, the FDA has not yet decided whether it should
ban downer cattle -- those too sick or hurt to walk -- from all animal
feed and was looking for public input in making its final decision.
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- The agency also asked whether meatpackers should use
separate facilities when handling cattle feed to prevent cross contamination.
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