A26-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 3,2001 Groups Issue Statement Regarding Efforts To Prevent BSE In U.S. WASHINGTON, D.C. The following statement was recently issued by Several breed associa tions and processor groups re garding efforts to prevent BSE in the U.S.: “As representatives of cattle producers, feed manufacturers, Tenderers, processors and veteri narians, we reaffirm our commit ment to effective implementation DENVER, Colo. Recently Chuck Schroeder, CEO National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, posted a report regarding BSE and the U.S. cattle industry. “Recent reports indicate that a Texas feed mill may have inad vertently mixed in meat and bone meal derived from U.S. cat tle with a feed supplement which later was fed to some cattle. It is important to understand this is a compliance issue, not a safety issue. There has never been a case of BSE found in the U.S. “The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) sup ports full compliance with FDA regulations that prohibit the feeding of mammalian-derived protein supplements that might be a risk for carrying the BSE in fectious agent. We have made it clear to the feed industry and the rendering industry from the start that we expect full compliance. If there are violations of the law - whether purposeful or accidental - NCBA expects these to be dealt ffiuytAe. Skat Steel Steapng, <£ Siding Grandrib 3®PLUS Buy the Best from A company that only sells Quality. All this adds up t 0... Grandrib 3® PLUS is backed by an industry leading: 35 Year Sidewall & 30 Year Roof Paint Warranty 25 Year Sidewall Corrosion Warranty 20 Year Roofing Corrosion Warranty 10 Year Edge Rust Warranty Complete Building Packages, Trusses And Glue-Laminated Timbers 717-866-6581 701 E. Linden St. Richland, M 17087 and enforcement of sound, sci ence-based measures to prevent the BSE agent from entering the United States. This includes im port restrictions, feed bans, and active surveillance. “Active surveillance in the U.S. has not revealed a single case of BSE. BSE regulations have a firm scientific foundation. They reflect the wisdom of care ful consideration and open de NCBA Posts BSE Information, Statement with according to law. “If there are folks within the industry who don’t understand the seriousness of the situation, they need to be brought to under stand it both by communica tion from the industry and if nec essary by penalties from the regulatory authorities involved. There is simply no excuse for non-compliance. As an industry, we are unwavering on that. “This is not a safety issue be cause the meat and bone meal in question originated in the U.S., and there has never been a case of BSE found here. The FDA feed regulation ban is a critical firewall measure and was imple mented as an extra precaution. “While BSE is not found in the U.S., the feed ban assures that if BSE somehow ever did get into this country, it would not spread and could be quickly iso lated and eradicated. It should be noted that just feeding mammal derived proteins to cattle does not in and of itself cause BSE. RIGIDPLY... bate. Surveillance and enforce ment in the U.S. have been vigilant. “Three components of BSE prevention that should remain the highest priority of industry and government are; “1) Strict enforcement of im port restrictions designed to keep the BSE agent out of the U.S., “2) Achieve 100% compliance with the FDA feed ban, and BSE is only spread through feed if that feed is contaminated with the BSE infectious agent. “The BSE agent only has been found in central nervous system tissue including brain, spinal cord and retinal tissues. The BSE infectious agent has never been found in muscle meat, which is the principle way beef is con sumed in the American diet.” Background Information Because NCBA views compli ance with the FDA feed regula tion as a top priority, the organi zation hosted a meeting in Washington, D.C., on Monday to discuss this issue. Planning for the meeting began last November. NCBA invited officials of the FDA Center for Veteri nary Medicine, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the feed industry and the meatpack ing and rendering industries to the meeting to discuss