The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has instituted a ban on specified risk materials (SRMs) capable of transmitting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) from all animal feeds, pet foods and fertilizers.
The CFIA stated that altering the feed regulations to ban all SRM tissues (skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia (nerves attached to the brain), eyes, tonsils, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia (nerves attached to the spinal cord) of cattle aged 30 months or older and the distal ileum (portion of the small intestine) of cattle of all ages) from all animal feeds and fertilizers is necessary to prevent cross-contamination of products to which susceptible animals may be exposed. Current feed restrictions, enacted in 1997, banned feeding ruminants tissues known to potentially harbor the prions associated with BSE. The latest Canadian case of BSE is believed to have most likely resulted from exposure to feed which was contaminated at processing or during transport with tissues from infected ruminants. The expanded feed restrictions will be effective starting July 12, 2007.
[Ed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a similar regulation to expand the ban on SRMs in animal feeds and is currently evaluating which specific tissues should be banned from what products. It is estimated that cattle in the U.S. produce in excess of 1 billion pounds of SRMs annually. One key question is how to dispose of SRMs which are not fed to animals. In addition, what would be the impact on swine diets if SRMs are excluded from the meat and bone meal which currently comprises approximately 5% of swine diets?]
Source:
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
News Release, June 26, 2006