CONSUMERS UNION SAYS FDA ACTION OVERDUE ON MAD COW RISK

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http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/campaignmadcow/001652.html#more

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 18, 2004

 

CONTACT:

Michael Hansen at (914) 378-2452 or

Jean Halloran at (914) 378-2457

 

CONSUMERS UNION SAYS FDA ACTION OVERDUE ON MAD COW RISK

 

Agency should immediately close loopholes in animal feed rules;

possible new case underscores need to test more cows

 

YONKERS, N.Y. – The U.S. Agriculture Department's announcement that it

is evaluating another cow to confirm or deny its infection with mad

cow disease underscores the need for the Food and Drug Administration

(FDA) to act now to protect the public and for the U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA) to test more cows annually, Consumers Union,

publisher of Consumer Reports, said today.

 

" FDA must immediately close loopholes in its rules on animal feed that

could allow the disease to spread, " said Michael Hansen, Ph.D., a

research biologist at CU.

 

In January, the FDA promised to make changes in animal feed rules, in

the wake of the discovery of the first mad cow case in the U.S. But

FDA never followed through. FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan initially

announced that the agency would ban cow blood and several other

materials that pose risks in terms of transmission of mad cow disease

in cattle feed. However, the agency never published the regulations in

the Federal Register. In July, the FDA said it was considering broader

restrictions, thereby postponing any action even further.

 

" This foot dragging must stop, " Hansen said. " The agency has known for

a while that cow blood and chicken coop floor waste could be vehicles

for transmission of mad cow disease. FDA should act immediately to

prohibit these substances as well as restaurant waste and pig and

poultry slaughterhouse waste, in ruminant feed. "

 

Hansen added that the USDA should also test far more than 1% of the

cows slaughtered each year, a much smaller figure than the percentage

tested in Japan and most of Europe. The USDA has tested 113,000 cows

since it began a broader test program earlier this year, but more than

35 million cattle are slaughtered for food in the country each year.

 

" While testing alone will not fully protect the public, we should be

testing all animals over 20 months, said Hansen. " Even animals that

test negative can be silent carriers of this infection, " Hansen added. "

 

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Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, is an

independent nonprofit testing, educational and information

organization serving only the consumer. We are a comprehensive source

of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance,

health, nutrition and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission

has been to test products, inform the public and protect consumers.

 

 

 

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