ANIMAL DISEASE PREVENTION – Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)

NCBA Staff Contact: 

Dr. Elizabeth Parker, Chief Veterinarian
202-347-0228
eparker@beef.org

Summary:
NCBA continues to address issues relating to the cases of BSE announced December 23, 2003, June 24, 2005, and March 13, 2006.  Focused efforts to regain access to our key export markets that were closed due to the 2003 BSE announcement continue to be a top priority.  Efforts to ensure consumer confidence, food safety and animal health, and re-establish normalized trade with our international neighbors continue.

USDA announced April 28, 2006, an estimate of the prevalence of BSE in the United States based upon data obtained through their Enhanced Surveillance Program and through surveillance conducted in the United States for the 5 years prior.  In their statement, USDA said “The findings indicate that the most likely number of cases present in the United States is between 4 and 7 animals. Therefore, USDA concludes that the prevalence of the disease in the United States is less than 1 case per million adult cattle, based on an adult cattle population in this country of 42 million animals.” 

USDA’s Enhanced BSE Surveillance Program was developed to test targeted animals identified as most likely to have the disease.  Beginning June 1, 2004, the program tested over 750,000 cattle and found only two confirmed cases, evidence that our safeguards are working and the prevalence of BSE in the U.S. is extremely low.  Testing 268,500 animals can detect BSE at a rate of 1 in 10 million adult cattle at a 99 percent confidence level.

OIE Classifies United States as “Controlled Risk”:

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) Scientific Commission has formally classified the United States as a controlled risk country for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).  The International Committee of the OIE unanimously adopted the resolution on May 22, 2007, and recommended that Canada, Switzerland, Taipei-China, Chile, Brazil and the United States be recognized as having “controlled risk” status for BSE.

The controlled risk classification recognizes that U.S. regulatory controls are effective and that U.S fresh beef and beef products from cattle of all ages can be safely traded due to our interlocking safeguards.  This provides strong support from an internationally recognized, standard-setting body that the science-based mitigation measures in place in the United States effectively protect animal health and food safety.

U.S. government officials will use this international validation to urge our trading partners to reopen export markets to the full spectrum of U.S. cattle and beef products.

Key Points:

Precautions in Place to Protect Animals and Consumers from BSE: BSE prevention and assurance of food safety in the U.S. involves a multiple firewall approach. This includes:  

·         full enforcement of the ruminant feed ban (implemented in 1997) which prevents the spread of the infective agent. 

·         mandatory removal of specified risk materials (SRMs) at processing.  These materials, (brain, spinal cord, central nervous system tissue, etc.) are not in the meat we eat.

·         a ban on the importation of ruminants and ruminant products from countries with a high risk of BSE.

In addition, the U.S. conducts a statistically sound and comprehensive animal surveillance program to continually monitor for the presence of the disease.  The USDA began an enhanced surveillance program on June 1, 2004 with the goal of testing approximately 268,000 U.S. cattle for BSE over 12-18 months to reassure American consumers as well as overseas customers that U.S. beef is safe. (Testing 268,500 animals could detect BSE at a rate of 1 in 10 million adult cattle at a 99 percent confidence level.) 

The program tested over 750,000 cattle. The NCBA has supported this large, one-time sampling of the at-risk cattle population to illustrate that the BSE risk in the United States is low as previously estimated by the Harvard risk analysis effort.

Harvard Center says U.S. is Low-Risk: The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis conducted a comprehensive multi-year assessment of the risk of BSE in the U.S. and concluded that “measures taken by the U.S. government and industry make the U.S. robust against the spread of BSE to animals or humans should it be introduced into this country.” While this one case is unfortunate, systems have been built over the past 15 years to prevent this disease from spreading and affecting either animal health or public health.

Consumers Should Know: NCBA has aggressively communicated to national and consumer media that Americans should continue to eat beef with confidence. All scientific studies show that the BSE infectious agent has never been found in beef muscle meat or milk, and U.S. beef remains safe to eat.

·         The BSE agent is not found in meat like steaks and roasts. It is only found in central nervous system tissue such as brain and spinal cord.

·         All U.S. cattle are inspected by a USDA Inspector or veterinarian before going to slaughter. Animals with any signs of neurological disorder are tested for BSE, all diseased animals are removed from the food system.

·         BSE affects older cattle, typically over 30 months of age. The vast majority of the cattle going to market in the U.S. are less than 24 months old.

·         The U.S. began a surveillance program for BSE in 1990 and was the first country without the disease within its borders to test cattle for the disease. The surveillance system targets all cattle with any signs of neurological disorder as well as those over 30 months of age and animals that are non-ambulatory.

·         The U.S. banned imports of cattle and bovine products from countries with BSE beginning in 1989.

·         The only way BSE spreads is through contaminated feed. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration in 1997 instituted a ban on feeding ruminant-derived meat and bone meal supplements to cattle. This is a firewall that prevents the spread of BSE to other animals if it were present in the U.S.

Consumers Remain Confident: Based upon consumer research and reports from major beef retail and foodservice companies, U.S. consumers’ confidence remains strong in U.S. beef as the safest in the world. Despite consumers being aware of the BSE finding, confidence in U.S. beef being safe is at 92 percent, higher than at pre-BSE levels. Consumers also have a high confidence in the government and cattlemen to provide them with beef that is safe from BSE.

For more information, visit:  http://www.bseinfo.org