Sludge Watch ==> Mad Cow Case Frustrates Officials

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Mad Cow is of ongoing interest as it touches on the issue of recycling 
'wastes' as 'animal feed' or 'fertilizer' (soil ammendments).

There is still much regulatory grey area around land application of 
materials that may contain prion wastes...land application of septage 
(including slaughterhouse waste, rendering wastes), land application of 
washwater rendering plant sludges, land application of composted or 
uncomposted paunch manure (contents of bovine stomach from 
slaughterhouse...may contain the ileum...a high risk material)..and the 
oversight and enforcement of provincial and federal ...state and 
federal...requirements.

There's many a slip twixt cup and lip...   In Canada certainly the Federal 
officials claim internationally that there is no specified risk material 
(name for BSE risk materials) in any feed, fertilizer, or pet food.
Ah....but sewage sludge and any other 'fertilizer' or ammendment that is 
given away free is not regulated as 'fertilizer' even if it has a fertilizer 
label!   Yup...there is no requirement for the fertilizer label to match the 
material in the bag or the truck if you gave it away.  You can show the 
farmer the label...stamped and dated with the Canadian Food Inspection seal 
..... and deliver something completely different to the farm or home.  If 
you didn't pay for it, it cannot even be investigated by the Canadian Food 
Inspection Agency.  They will tell you its a provincial matter.

The province will tell you that it is fertiilzer...has a federal fertilizer 
label..and is not in provincial jurisdiction.

Result : ZERO regulation...this is the case with the give away sewage sludge 
fertilizer pellets from the City of  Toronto and the paper sludge based 
'ammendments'  (digested with sewage sludge bacteria from the sewage 
treatment plant)

How do like that for regulatory gap?

..........................................................................



USDA releases report on investigation into Alabama BSE case
May 2, 2006
Inside AMI
MeatAMI.com
USDA’s Animal and Health and Inspection Service (APHIS) today released the 
results of an investigation into a BSE case identified in Alabama in March 
and noted that the animal was a non-ambulatory red crossbred, and that 
dentition determined that the animal was more than ten years old.
The ten-year age determination is significant because it indicates that the 
animal was born prior to the implementation of FDA’s 1997 feed ban that 
minimizes the risk that a cow might consume feed contaminated with the agent 
thought to cause BSE. The animal was euthanized on the farm and a 
veterinarian submitted brain samples for testing. The animal was buried on 
the farm and did not enter the food supply.
APHIS and Alabama State officials investigated 36 farms and 5 auction houses 
and conducted DNA testing on herds that may have included relatives of the 
index animal. APHIS and State investigators were unable to find any related 
animals except for the two most recent calves of the index animal. The most 
recent calf was located at the same farm as the index animal and the second 
calf died the year before. No other animals of interest were located. The 
living calf of the BSE-positive animal is currently being held at APHIS’ 
National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, for observation.
“APHIS’ investigation did not reveal the BSE-positive animal’s herd of 
origin,” USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford, DVM, said. “However, 
this was not entirely unexpected due to the age of the animal, along with 
its lack of identifying brands, tattoos and tags. Experience worldwide has 
shown that it is highly unusual to find BSE in more than one animal in a 
herd or in an affected animal’s offspring.”
To ensure that adequate feed controls were in place in the feed facilities 
in the immediate geographic area of the index farm, FDA conducted a feed 
investigation into local feed mills that may have supplied feed to the index 
animal after the 1997 feed ban. This investigation found that all local feed 
mills that handle prohibited materials have been and continue to be in 
compliance with the FDA’s feed ban.
As part of APHIS’ BSE enhanced surveillance program, more than 700,000 
samples have been tested since June 2004. To date, only two of these highest 
risk animals has tested positive for the disease as part of the surveillance 
program, for a total of three cases of BSE in the United States.
“While APHIS’ epidemiological investigation did not locate additional 
animals of interest, it is important to remember that human and animal 
health in the United States is protected by a system of interlocking 
safeguards, which ensure the safety of U.S. beef,” Clifford said. “The most 
important of these safeguards is the ban on specified risk materials from 
the food supply and the FDA's 1997 feed ban. ”






Mad-cow case frustrates officials
May 4, 2006
Wall Street Journal
Scott Kilman

Government regulators closed a mad-cow-disease case in Alabama without 
learning the animal's origins and said that their fruitless search 
highlights the need for a proposed national livestock identification 
program.
Ron Sparks, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and 
Industries, was quoted as saying, "If we had been dealing with a 
highly-contagious disease, we wouldn't have reacted quickly enough."
A proposed national livestock identification program is in danger of being 
bogged down by resistance from many rural interests, ranging from populist 
ranchers and Amish farmers to organic growers and rodeo competitors.