Mr. Will Hueston DVM on school lunch program, downers, and mad cow disease 2004 and 2008

Mr. Will Hueston DVM on school lunch program, downers, and mad cow disease 2004 and 2008



A Case of Abuse, Heightened

NYTimes

By JOE NOCERA

Published: March 8, 2008

snip...

Governments all over the world quickly took note and began instituting a series of measures to ensure that B.S.E.-infected cattle would not infiltrate the food supply. The United States, for instance, ordered stepped-up inspections to root out B.S.E., instituted import controls and mandated rules to ensure that cattle brains and spinal cords did not wind up being ingested by cows as part of their feed.

“The challenge to controlling B.S.E. is to control the feed,” Mr. Hueston said. Indeed, he says, many scientists believe that even infected cows can be safely eaten so long as their brains and spinal cord have been removed. But as a matter of course, those parts are removed from every cow, and on the very rare occasion when B.S.E. is diagnosed in a cow, it is destroyed. In truth, the story of mad cow disease has been a public health triumph.

As for downer cows, in the scheme of things they pose a far smaller risk factor for mad cow disease than, say, cattle feed. Still, the government doesn’t want to take any chances, so its rules state that cattle arriving at the slaughterhouse in a “nonambulatory” fashion must be euthanized and their meat must not enter the food supply. There is, however, one exception — an exception that drives Mr. Pacelle crazy. If a cow arrives at the slaughterhouse on its feet and passes inspection and then goes down, it can be still be slaughtered — so long as a U.S.D.A. veterinarian reinspects the animal. ...


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/business/08nocera.html



Will Hueston, DVM, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Animal Health and Food Safety 2004 Mr. Hueston DVM claims ;

Senate wants to keep downed cattle out of food supply Robert Roos News Editor

Nov 10, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – In an effort to ensure that sick cattle are kept out of the food supply, the Senate last week approved a measure to bar the Department of Agriculture (USDA) from approving the use of "downed" animals for human consumption.

snip...

Cohen said nonambulatory cows can be approved for food use if they show no signs of illness, which can happen with injured animals. "A lot of them are older dairy cows that have either hip or leg injuries," he explained. "Sometimes they have accidental slips in transportation, and that's why a lot of our inspection takes place in the transport vehicle itself, so that the animal doesn't suffer when being moved."

Cohen couldn't say how many nonambulatory cattle turn up at slaughter plants each year or how many are used for food. The AP report said the USDA has estimated that 130,000 downed animals are slaughtered annually.

Akaka said it's not possible to distinguish BSE from many other diseases by simple inspection. "Consequently, BSE-infected cattle can be approved for human and animal consumption," he asserted.

Will Hueston, DVM, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Animal Health and Food Safety in St. Paul, agreed that BSE has no unique clinical signs that make it easily recognizable. Consquently, he said, there is a theoretical risk that a BSE-infected cow could end up food, though no BSE cases have been seen in the United States. "If we had BSE, an animal that [had the disease and] was unable to move because of a broken leg and showed no signs of disease, no fever or abnormal behavior, could enter the food chain," Hueston said.

He added, "I wouldn't go too far down that line, though," because the USDA's surveillance program for BSE focuses largely on downed cattle, which are among the cattle at highest risk. In fiscal year 2003 (which ended Sep 30), the agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) tested 20,277 cattle for BSE, including 16,560 downed cattle, according to information on the agency's Web site. The carcasses of tested animals are held until the test results are in.

In BSE-affected countries, high-risk tissues, including the brain and spinal cord, are removed from all adult cattle at the time of slaughter to guard against the risk of invisible BSE cases entering the food chain, Hueston noted. The abnormal prion proteins associated with BSE have not been found in muscle tissues used as meat.

Cattle that are condemned as unfit for human consumption are sent for rendering, in which the carcass is cooked to remove water and separate fat from protein, Hueston said. The fat and protein are used in pet food, feed for animals other than cattle or other ruminants, and various other products. As a precaution against BSE, material from ruminants cannot legally be fed to ruminants.

See also:

Sen. Akaka's news release


http://akaka.senate.gov/~akaka/releases/03/11/2003B06340.html



http://www.cidrapforum.org/cidrap/content/other/bse/news/nov1003cattle.html



Atlantic Monthly Article is on the Web

Atlantic Monthly article by Ellen Ruppel Shell on mad cow disease in USA

A few colorful quotes from a 13 page article: 'In fact, brain doesn't just enter our food chain but goes directly into the human food supply. Each year, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, which is charged with regulating the meat industry, about a million cow brains are sold for consumption in the United States, and others are exported. Generally these are whole brains taken from cows slaughtered in the kosher manner -- that is, their throats are cut while they are still conscious. Most cows in the United States, though, are shot in the head with a stun gun before having their throats cut, a process perhaps more humane but also, at least when a pneumatic stun gun that injects air is used, more likely to contaminate other parts of the carcass with brain. This pneumatic gun can crack the cow's skull, causing the brain to leak out. And the force of the gun is such that it can blow pieces of brain into the bloodstream, where they can be carried to the animal's lungs or liver. Tam Garland has recovered chunks of brain as large as six inches across in the lungs of slaughtered cattle. Canadian researchers have spotted pieces of brain about two and a half inches wide lodged in cow livers.'

'Will Hueston, a veterinary epidemiologist formerly with the USDA and now an associate dean at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, says that the agency has not imposed a ban on spinal column and brain in the rendering process because to do so would be very expensive and basically unenforceable. As one rendering-plant employee told me, "Who would want the job of cutting out all those spinal columns and brains? You couldn't even get occasional workers to do it." But when asked why brain and spinal column are not banned from the human food supply in the United States, Hueston was circumspect, suggesting that I speak with someone at the Food Safety and Inspection Service.'

'Jacque Knight, a spokeswoman for the FSIS, was vague and seemed annoyed when asked whether brain or spinal cord was getting directly into sausage or other processed meats. "Since the Meat Act of 1906 we have never prohibited brain or spinal cord," she said. "It is part of the animal. However, it is not something people expect to find in meat. Therefore, as of May of last year, we have told our inspectors that if they suspect brain or spinal cord of getting into meat, they should report it." The inspectors' union expressed concern that it would be difficult for its members, already bogged down in other duties, to take on this additional task. The agency employs 7,535 inspectors in 6,200 meat and poultry slaughtering and processing plants. To date fifty-four reports have been filed and five plants have been found in violation of the rule. '

'The Rocky Mountain Laboratories is an unassuming NIH outpost hunkered in the shadow of the magnificent snow-crested Bitterroot Mountains. Built on a residential street in Hamilton, Montana, the red-brick structure stands out like a Brooks Brothers suit on Casual Friday. The lab was set up by the state in 1928 to study Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a deadly tick-borne disease that plagued the region. The people of Hamilton were so nervous about ticks going AWOL from the lab that a moat -- really, a puddle-deep trench -- was dug around its perimeter. Over time the laboratory has branched out to consider a wide range of infectious diseases, and has attracted, among other notables, a world-renowned team of experts on TSE. One of these is Byron Caughey, a strapping, bearded biochemist who looks nothing like the poet whose name he shares.'


http://www.mad-cow.org/mad_sheep.html#aaa



http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/98sep/madcow.htm



Dr. Will Hueston, a University of Minnesota veterinarian and expert on public health communications, was cited as saying that new and emerging diseases require public officials to offer straight talk, adding, "You need to be candid and straight-forward -- and you need to be first. In the face of an emerging (disease) issue ... if authoritative sources of information do not step forward, then people will fill that void by anything they can. You end up following rumors." Hueston was further quoted as saying public officials often show "a natural tendency to over-reassure, that everything's all right. ... The more you try to assure people that everything is all right, they think there's something really bad you're not telling."


http://archives.foodsafety.ksu.edu/animalnet/2005/12-2005/AnimalNet%20Dec.%2014_05.eml.html#story0




NOW, some facts Will Hueston, DVM, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Animal Health and Food Safety fails to mention ;

J. Virol. doi:10.1128/JVI.02561-07 Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Evaluation of the Human Transmission Risk of an Atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Prion Strain

***These results suggest that, in humans, BASE is a more virulent BSE strain and likely lymphotropic.


http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/JVI.02561-07v1?papetoc




USA MAD COW CASES IN ALABAMA AND TEXAS


***PLEASE NOTE***

USA BASE CASE, (ATYPICAL BSE), AND OR TSE (whatever they are calling it today), please note that both the ALABAMA COW, AND THE TEXAS COW, both were ''H-TYPE'', personal communication Detwiler et al Wednesday, August 22, 2007 11:52 PM. ...TSS




http://lists.iatp.org/listarchive/archive.cfm?listID=147&startrow=1081




2009 UPDATE ON ALABAMA AND TEXAS MAD COWS 2005 and 2006



http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2006/08/bse-atypical-texas-and-alabama-update.html



Monday, October 19, 2009


Atypical BSE, BSE, and other human and animal TSE in North America Update October 2009



http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/10/atypical-bse-bse-and-other-human-and.html



Wednesday, November 18, 2009


R-CALF: 40 Groups Disagree With USDA's Latest BSE Court Submission



http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/11/r-calf-40-groups-disagree-with-usdas.html





Monday, November 23, 2009

BSE GBR RISK ASSESSMENTS UPDATE NOVEMBER 23, 2009 COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND O.I.E.



http://docket-aphis-2006-0041.blogspot.com/2009/11/bse-gbr-risk-assessments-update.html






MARCH 2002

Livestock Mortalities:

Methods of Disposal and Their

Potential Costs

USDA/National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates that in the year 2000,

approximately 4.1 million cattle died before they could be sent to slaughter (Table 2). Of these, 2.4 million were calves (under 500 lbs), with the balance of 1.7 million over 6 months of age (or, as reported, in excess of 500 lbs). ....END...TSS

NASS

Non-Ambulatory

Cattle and Calves

Released May 5, 2005, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department

of Agriculture. For information on Non-ambulatory Cattle and Calves call Mike Miller at 720-3040, office hours 7:30 a.m. to

4:30 p.m. ET.

Cattle and Calves: Non-Ambulatory Number,

by Region and United States, 2003-2004

ALL NON-AMBULATORY CATTLE 2003 = 465,000

ALL NON-AMBULATORY CATTLE 2004 = 450,000

SNIP...END...TSS

Non-Ambulatory

Cattle and Calves

Released May 5, 2005, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department

of Agriculture. For information on Non-ambulatory Cattle and Calves call Mike Miller at 720-3040, office hours 7:30 a.m. to

4:30 p.m. ET.

Non-Ambulatory Cattle and Calves

Non-ambulatory cattle and calves in the United States totaled 465,000 head during 2003 and

450,000 head during 2004. The number of non-ambulatory cattle 500 pounds or greater totaled

280,000 head in 2003 and 270,000 head in 2004. The number of calves under 500 pounds reported

as non-ambulatory totaled 185,000 head in 2003 and 180,000 head in 2004. ...SNIP...END

August 2004

04-021ANPR 04-021ANPR-68 N/A

An Economic and Environmental Assessment of Eliminating Specified Risk Materials and Cattle Mortalities from Existing Markets

snip...

USDA estimates 1.7 103 million cattle and 2.3656 million calves died prior to slaughter in 20022, for a. total species count of just under 4.1 million deaths. In 2001, USDA reported just over 4.2 million species deaths. The next step is to determine the number of nonambulatory cattle in the United States. No one knows the exact number; however, USDA estimates approximately 200,000 per year based on a survey conducted of American Association of Bovine Practitioners members3, bringing the estimated total number of dead and downer cattle and calves to about 4.3 - 4.4 million per year, roughly consistent with FDA’s estimate of 4.6 million.

USDA does, not regularly report cattle deaths by type, i.e. beef or diary, but it periodically conducts an industry survey to provide a detailed breakdown of the cattle and calf death losses by class, state and size group. From their most recent survey4 it is estimated that 69.4% of cattle deaths and 68,7% of calf deaths are from beef animals, with dairy animals accounting for the remaining 30.6% and 31.3% of cattle and calf deaths, respectively. Given the absence of updated data and little reason to expect these proportions have changed meaningfully over time, we apply these factors to the USDA total cattle and calf death loss estimates reported above to estimate current cattle and calf death loss in the beef and dairy industries (Table 1).


http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/DOCKETS/dailys/04/sep04/092104/04n-0264-c00142-vol22.pdf



Monday, October 19, 2009

Atypical BSE, BSE, and other human and animal TSE in North America Update
October 19, 2009


http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2009/10/atypical-bse-bse-and-other-human-and.html





Sunday, September 6, 2009

MAD COW USA 1997 SECRET VIDEO


http://madcowusda.blogspot.com/2009/09/mad-cow-usa-1997-video.html




U.S.A. HIDING MAD COW DISEASE VICTIMS AS SPORADIC CJD ? see video at bottom


http://creutzfeldt-jakob-disease.blogspot.com/2009/07/usa-hiding-mad-cow-disease-victims-as.html




DAMNING TESTIMONY FROM STANLEY PRUSINER THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER ON PRIONS SPEAKING ABOUT ANN VENEMAN see video


http://maddeer.org/video/embedded/prusinerclip.html



2009 UPDATE ON ALABAMA AND TEXAS MAD COWS 2005 and 2006


http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/2006/08/bse-atypical-texas-and-alabama-update.html





10,000,000+ LBS. of PROHIBITED BANNED MAD COW FEED I.E. MBM IN COMMERCE USA 2007

Date: March 21, 2007 at 2:27 pm PST RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINES -- CLASS II ___________________________________

PRODUCT

Bulk cattle feed made with recalled Darling’s 85% Blood Meal, Flash Dried, Recall # V-024-2007

CODE

Cattle feed delivered between 01/12/2007 and 01/26/2007

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Pfeiffer, Arno, Inc, Greenbush, WI. by conversation on February 5, 2007.

Firm initiated recall is ongoing.

REASON

Blood meal used to make cattle feed was recalled because it was cross-contaminated with prohibited bovine meat and bone meal that had been manufactured on common equipment and labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

42,090 lbs.

DISTRIBUTION

WI

___________________________________

PRODUCT

Custom dairy premix products: MNM ALL PURPOSE Pellet, HILLSIDE/CDL Prot-Buffer Meal, LEE, M.-CLOSE UP PX Pellet, HIGH DESERT/ GHC LACT Meal, TATARKA, M CUST PROT Meal, SUNRIDGE/CDL PROTEIN Blend, LOURENZO, K PVM DAIRY Meal, DOUBLE B DAIRY/GHC LAC Mineral, WEST PIONT/GHC CLOSEUP Mineral, WEST POINT/GHC LACT Meal, JENKS, J/COMPASS PROTEIN Meal, COPPINI – 8# SPECIAL DAIRY Mix, GULICK, L-LACT Meal (Bulk), TRIPLE J – PROTEIN/LACTATION, ROCK CREEK/GHC MILK Mineral, BETTENCOURT/GHC S.SIDE MK-MN, BETTENCOURT #1/GHC MILK MINR, V&C DAIRY/GHC LACT Meal, VEENSTRA, F/GHC LACT Meal, SMUTNY, A-BYPASS ML W/SMARTA, Recall # V-025-2007

CODE

The firm does not utilize a code - only shipping documentation with commodity and weights identified.

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Rangen, Inc, Buhl, ID, by letters on February 13 and 14, 2007. Firm initiated recall is complete.

REASON

Products manufactured from bulk feed containing blood meal that was cross contaminated with prohibited meat and bone meal and the labeling did not bear cautionary BSE statement.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

9,997,976 lbs.

DISTRIBUTION

ID and NV

END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR MARCH 21, 2007

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2007/ENF00996.html

NEW URL

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/EnforcementReports/2007/ucm120446.htm


Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALL USA SEPT 6, 2006 1961.72 TONS IN COMMERCE AL, TN, AND WV

Date: September 6, 2006 at 7:58 am PST

PRODUCT

a) EVSRC Custom dairy feed, Recall # V-130-6; b) Performance Chick Starter, Recall # V-131-6; c) Performance Quail Grower, Recall # V-132-6; d) Performance Pheasant Finisher, Recall # V-133-6.

CODE None

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Donaldson & Hasenbein/dba J&R Feed Service, Inc., Cullman, AL, by telephone on June 23, 2006 and by letter dated July 19, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.

REASON

Dairy and poultry feeds were possibly contaminated with ruminant based protein.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

477.72 tons

DISTRIBUTION

AL ______________________________

PRODUCT

a) Dairy feed, custom, Recall # V-134-6; b) Custom Dairy Feed with Monensin, Recall # V-135-6. CODE None. Bulk product

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Recalling Firm: Burkmann Feed, Greeneville, TN, by Telephone beginning on June 28, 2006.

Manufacturer: H. J. Baker & Bro., Inc., Albertville, AL. Firm initiated recall is complete.

REASON

Possible contamination of dairy feeds with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

1,484 tons

DISTRIBUTION

TN and WV

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2006/ENF00968.html


Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALLS ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR AUGUST 9, 2006 KY, LA, MS, AL, GA, AND TN 11,000+ TONS

Date: August 16, 2006 at 9:19 am PST

RECALLS AND FIELD CORRECTIONS: VETERINARY MEDICINE - CLASS II ______________________________

PRODUCT

Bulk custom made dairy feed, Recall # V-115-6

CODE None

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Hiseville Feed & Seed Co., Hiseville, KY, by telephone and letter on or about July 14, 2006. FDA initiated recall is ongoing.

REASON

Custom made feeds contain ingredient called Pro-Lak which may contain ruminant derived meat and bone meal.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

Approximately 2,223 tons

DISTRIBUTION

KY

______________________________

PRODUCT

Bulk custom made dairy feed, Recall # V-116-6

CODE None

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Rips Farm Center, Tollesboro, KY, by telephone and letter on July 14, 2006. FDA initiated recall is ongoing.

REASON

Custom made feeds contain ingredient called Pro-Lak which may contain ruminant derived meat and bone meal.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

1,220 tons

DISTRIBUTION

KY

______________________________

PRODUCT

Bulk custom made dairy feed, Recall # V-117-6

CODE None

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Kentwood Co-op, Kentwood, LA, by telephone on June 27, 2006. FDA initiated recall is completed.

REASON

Possible contamination of animal feed ingredients, including ingredients that are used in feed for dairy animals, with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

40 tons

DISTRIBUTION

LA and MS

______________________________

PRODUCT

Bulk Dairy Feed, Recall V-118-6

CODE None

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Cal Maine Foods, Inc., Edwards, MS, by telephone on June 26, 2006. FDA initiated recall is complete.

REASON

Possible contamination of animal feed ingredients, including ingredients that are used in feed for dairy animals, with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

7,150 tons

DISTRIBUTION

MS

______________________________

PRODUCT

Bulk custom dairy pre-mixes, Recall # V-119-6

CODE None

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Walthall County Co-op, Tylertown, MS, by telephone on June 26, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.

REASON

Possible contamination of dairy animal feeds with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

87 tons

DISTRIBUTION

MS

______________________________

PRODUCT

Bulk custom dairy pre-mixes, Recall # V-120-6

CODE None

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Ware Milling Inc., Houston, MS, by telephone on June 23, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.

REASON

Possible contamination of dairy animal feeds with ruminant derived meat and bone meal.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

350 tons

DISTRIBUTION

AL and MS

______________________________

PRODUCT

a) Tucker Milling, LLC Tm 32% Sinking Fish Grower, #2680-Pellet, 50 lb. bags, Recall # V-121-6; b) Tucker Milling, LLC #31120, Game Bird Breeder Pellet, 50 lb. bags, Recall # V-122-6; c) Tucker Milling, LLC #31232 Game Bird Grower, 50 lb. bags, Recall # V-123-6; d) Tucker Milling, LLC 31227-Crumble, Game Bird Starter, BMD Medicated, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-124-6; e) Tucker Milling, LLC #31120, Game Bird Breeder, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-125-6; f) Tucker Milling, LLC #30230, 30 % Turkey Starter, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-126-6; g) Tucker Milling, LLC #30116, TM Broiler Finisher, 50 lb bags, Recall # V-127-6

CODE

All products manufactured from 02/01/2005 until 06/20/2006

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Recalling Firm: Tucker Milling LLC, Guntersville, AL, by telephone and visit on June 20, 2006, and by letter on June 23, 2006. Manufacturer: H. J. Baker and Brothers Inc., Stamford, CT. Firm initiated recall is ongoing.

REASON

Poultry and fish feeds which were possibly contaminated with ruminant based protein were not labeled as "Do not feed to ruminants".

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

7,541-50 lb bags

DISTRIBUTION

AL, GA, MS, and TN

END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR AUGUST 9, 2006

###

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ENFORCE/2006/ENF00964.html


Subject: MAD COW FEED RECALL MI MAMMALIAN PROTEIN VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE 27,694,240 lbs

Date: August 6, 2006 at 6:14 pm PST

PRODUCT

Bulk custom dairy feds manufactured from concentrates, Recall # V-113-6

CODE

All dairy feeds produced between 2/1/05 and 6/16/06 and containing H. J. Baker recalled feed products.

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER

Vita Plus Corp., Gagetown, MI, by visit beginning on June 21, 2006. Firm initiated recall is complete.

REASON

The feed was manufactured from materials that may have been contaminated with mammalian protein.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE

27,694,240 lbs

DISTRIBUTION

MI

END OF ENFORCEMENT REPORT FOR AUGUST 2, 2006

###

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2006/ENF00963.html



THIS LIST IS ENDLESS, SEE FULL TEXT MAD COW PROTEIN SRMs IN COMMERCE. remember this, .005 gram of mad cow tainted material is lethal enough to kill one cow. ...tss


http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/02/specified-risk-materials-srm.html



http://madcowspontaneousnot.blogspot.com/2008/01/january-2008-update-on-feed-enforcement.html



Geographical BSE Risk (GBR) assessments covering 2000-2006

Date : 01.08.2006


http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/Scientific_Document/GBR_assessments_table_Overview_assessed_countries_2002-2006.pdf



Audit Report

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Surveillance Program - Phase II

and

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Controls Over BSE Sampling, Specified Risk Materials, and Advanced Meat Recovery Products - Phase III

Report No. 50601-10-KC January 2006

Finding 2 Inherent Challenges in Identifying and Testing High-Risk Cattle Still Remain

Our prior report identified a number of inherent problems in identifying and testing high-risk cattle. We reported that the challenges in identifying the universe of high-risk cattle, as well as the need to design procedures to obtain an appropriate representation of samples, was critical to the success of the BSE surveillance program. The surveillance program was designed to target nonambulatory cattle, cattle showing signs of CNS disease (including cattle testing negative for rabies), cattle showing signs not inconsistent with BSE, and dead cattle. Although APHIS designed procedures to ensure FSIS condemned cattle were sampled and made a concerted effort for outreach to obtain targeted samples, industry practices not considered in the design of the surveillance program reduced assurance that targeted animals were tested for BSE.

USDA/OIG-A/50601-10-KC Page 27

observe these animals ante mortem when possible to assure the animals from the target population are ultimately sampled and the clinical signs evaluated.

snip...


http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/50601-10-KC.pdf



GAO-05-51 October 2004 FOOD SAFETY

over 500 customers receiving potentially BSE contaminated beef .....

* GAO-05-51 October 2004 FOOD SAFETY (over 500 customers receiving potentially BSE contaminated beef) - TSS 10/20/04

October 2004 FOOD SAFETY USDA and FDA Need to Better Ensure Prompt and Complete Recalls of Potentially Unsafe Food

snip...

REPORTS

1. Food Safety: USDA and FDA Need to Better Ensure Prompt and Complete Recalls of Potentially Unsafe Food. GAO-05-51, October 7.tss


http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0551.pdf



Highlights -


http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0551high.pdf



3. Mad Cow Disease: FDA's Management of the Feed Ban Has Improved, but Oversight Weaknesses Continue to Limit Program Effectiveness. GAO-05-101, Feb. 25.


www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-101



Highlights -


www.gao.gov/highlights/d05101high.pdf



SADLY, DEC 2005 SHOWS THAT WE STILL HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH BSE/TSE MAD COW DISEASE FEED

GAO

GAO-06-157R FDA Feed Testing Program

October 11, 2005

SNIP...FULL TEXT 29 PAGES ;


http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06157r.pdf



Mad Cow Disease: An Evaluation of a Small Feed Testing Program FDA Implemented in 2003 With Recommendations for Making the Program a Better Oversight Tool. GAO-06-157R, October 11


http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-157R



PrPSc distribution of a natural case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy

Yoshifumi Iwamaru, Yuka Okubo, Tamako Ikeda, Hiroko Hayashi, Mori- kazu Imamura, Takashi Yokoyama and Morikazu Shinagawa Priori Disease Research Center, National Institute of Animal Health, 3-1-5 Kannondai, Tsukuba 305-0856 Japan gan@affrc.go.jp

Abstract

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is a disease of cattle that causes progressive neurodegeneration of the central nervous system. Infectivity of BSE agent is accompanied with an abnormal isoform of prion protein (PrPSc). The specified risk materials (SRM) are tissues potentially carrying BSE infectivity. The following tissues are designated as SRM in Japan: the skull including the brain and eyes but excluding the glossa and the masse- ter muscle, the vertebral column excluding the vertebrae of the tail, spinal cord, distal illeum. For a risk management step, the use of SRM in both animal feed or human food has been prohibited. However, detailed PrPSc distribution remains obscure in BSE cattle and it has caused controversies about definitions of SRM. Therefore we have examined PrPSc distribution in a BSE cattle by Western blotting to reassess definitions of SRM. The 11th BSE case in Japan was detected in fallen stock surveillance. The carcass was stocked in the refrigerator. For the detection of PrPSc, 200 mg of tissue samples were homogenized. Following collagenase treatment, samples were digested with proteinase K. After digestion, PrPSc was precipitated by sodium phosphotungstate (PTA). The pellets were subjected to Western blotting using the standard procedure. Anti-prion protein monoclonal antibody (mAb) T2 conjugated horseradish peroxidase was used for the detection of PrPSc. PrPSc was detected in brain, spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia, trigeminal ganglia, sublingual ganglion, retina. In addition, PrPSc was also detected in the peripheral nerves (sciatic nerve, tibial nerve, vagus nerve). Our results suggest that the currently accepted definitions of SRM in 9/13/2005

179 Page 10 of 17

BSE cattle may need to be reexamined.

T. Kitamoto (Ed.) PRIONS Food and Drug Safety

================

ALSO from the International Symposium of Prion Diseases held in Sendai, October 31, to November 2, 2004; Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Japan

snip...


http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/Comments/03-025IFA/03-025IFA-2.pdf



Detection and Localization of PrPSc in the Skeletal Muscle Thu Mar 2, 2006 10:40 70.110.86.250

© 2006 American Society for Investigative Pathology

Detection and Localization of PrPSc in the Skeletal Muscle of Patients with Variant, Iatrogenic, and Sporadic Forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Alexander H. Peden, Diane L. Ritchie, Mark W. Head and James W. Ironside From the National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit and Division of Pathology, School of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) differs from other human prion diseases in that the pathogenic prion protein PrPSc can be detected to a greater extent at extraneuronal sites throughout the body, principally within lymphoid tissues. However, a recent study using a high-sensitivity Western blotting technique revealed low levels of PrPSc in skeletal muscle from a quarter of Swiss patients with sporadic CJD (sCJD). This posed the question of whether PrPSc in muscle could also be detected in vCJD, sCJD, and iatrogenic (iCJD) patients from other populations. Therefore, we have used the same high-sensitivity Western blotting technique, in combination with paraffin-embedded tissue blotting, to screen for PrPSc in muscle tissue specimens taken at autopsy from 49 CJD patients in the United Kingdom. These techniques identified muscle PrPSc in 8 of 17 vCJD, 7 of 26 sCJD, and 2 of 5 iCJD patients. Paraffin-embedded tissue blotting analysis showed PrPSc in skeletal muscle in localized anatomical structures that had the morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics of nerve fibers. The detection of PrPSc in muscle tissue from all forms of CJD indicates the possible presence of infectivity in these tissues, suggesting important implications for assessing the potential risk of iatrogenic spread via contaminated surgical instruments.


http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/content/abstract/168/3/927



Prions in Skeletal Muscles of Deer with Chronic Wasting Disease

Rachel C. Angers,1* Shawn R. Browning,1*† Tanya S. Seward,2 Christina J. Sigurdson,4‡ Michael W. Miller,5 Edward A. Hoover,4 Glenn C. Telling1,2,3§ 1Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, 2Sanders Brown Center on Aging, 3Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. 4Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. 5Colorado Division of Wildlife, Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA. *These authors contributed equally to this work. †Present address: Department of Infectology, Scripps Research Institute, 5353 Parkside Drive, RF-2, Jupiter, Florida, 33458, USA. ‡Present address: Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland. §To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: gtell2@uky.edu

Prions are transmissible proteinaceous agents of mammals that cause fatal neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The presence of infectivity in skeletal muscle of experimentally infected mice raised the possibility that dietary exposure to prions might occur through meat consumption (1). Chronic wasting disease (CWD), an enigmatic and contagious prion disease of North American cervids, is of particular concern. The emergence of CWD in an increasingly wide geographic area and the interspecies transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to humans as variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) have raised concerns about zoonotic transmission of CWD. To test whether skeletal muscle of diseased cervids.........SNIP....END...TSS

Monday, February 4, 2008

USDA CERTIFIED H-BASE MAD COW SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM

PLEASE NOTE, this disgusting video is just another example of just how terribly flawed the BSE surveillance and testing program has been over the past decades.

THIS video also proves what the GAO and OIG have been stating for years, that HIGH RISK SUSPECT MAD COW animals have been entering the food chain in the USA for years, and fed to humans and animals for human consumption. LET know one tell you any different, this plant is but one of many, they just got caught $$$

did you check out the waterboarding, without the board, of the high risk suspect mad cow with the high pressure water hose $

what has happened to humanity $

what have we become as humans $


http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/usda-certified-h-base-mad-cow-school.html



Sunday, February 17, 2008

Release No. 0046.08 Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer Regarding Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company Two Year Product Recall Release No. 0046.08 Contact: USDA Press Office (202) 720-4623


http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/02/release-no-004608-statement-by.html



SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM FROM DOWNER CATTLE UPDATE


http://downercattle.blogspot.com/



Blog Archive

2008 (8)

March (6)

California DOWNER COW meat worker: I was following...


http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/california-downer-cow-meat-worker-i-was.html



USDA QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS HALLMARK/WESTLAND MEAT


http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/usda-questions-and-answers.html



USDA to Hallmark: We want our plaque back


http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/usda-to-hallmark-we-want-our-plaque.html



House committee subpoenas Hallmark/Westland CEO


http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/house-committee-subpoenas.html



California lists possible recipients of recalled


http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/california-lists-possible-recipients-of.html



To the hard working employees of USDA and


http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008/03/to-hard-working-employees-of-usda-and.html



February (2)

BEEF RECALL NATIONWIDE - SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM UPDATE


http://downercattle.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html



TRANSCRIPT: Technical Briefing - Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company


http://downercattle.blogspot.com/





TSS