FDA ISSUES FINAL "BSE" FEED RULES
News Date May 02, 2008
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final regulation barring certain cattle materials from all animal feed including pet food. The final rule further protects animals and consumers against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, also known as "mad cow disease").
FDA originally published a proposed rule in October 2005 to strengthen U.S. policy and to reduce the risk of BSE. The final rule was published in the April 25 Federal Register. It will become effective a year from now on April 27, 2009, to allow the livestock, meat, rendering, and feed industries time to adapt their practices to comply with the new regulation.
In an expansion of the 1997 feed rule, the new rule prohibits the following in animal feed: all cattle over 30 months "not inspected and passed for human consumption" unless: 1) the cattle are less than 30 months of age; or 2) the brains and spinal cords were effectively removed or excluded from animal feed use. FDA is not prohibiting the use of blood and blood products in animal feed because the agency indicated in the rule that it believes such a prohibition would do very little to reduce the risk of BSE transmission. The 144-page rule is available online at www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/FDA-2002-N-0031-nfr.pdf. (Contact: Bob Ehart)