(JP)Eradicating mad cow disease

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http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/geted.pl5?ed20010929a1.htm

 

EDITORIAL

Saturday, September 29, 2001

Eradicating mad cow disease

 

When a diagnosis confirmed that a dairy cow in Chiba

Prefecture had had mad cow disease, Japan became the

first country in East Asia where the disease had been

detected. The government must be censured for its

optimistic view that there would be " little danger of

an outbreak of mad cow disease " in Japan. The bitter

experiences of Britain and other European countries,

where lack of awareness of the seriousness of this

infectious disease allowed it to become rampant,

should now prod Japan to take countermeasures as soon

as possible. It is important to adopt an approach that

eliminates health risks for the future.

 

Food safety must come first. If public confidence in

safety is shaken, then the livestock industry will be

in deep trouble. Countermeasures in Europe can serve

as a model. Basically, it is necessary to implement

thorough testing of beef for consumption and to ban

the processing of scrap meat and bone into bonemeal

for use as feed, which is thought to be the infection

route for the disease.

 

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has ordered the

inspection of all beef cattle at least 30 months old,

as they are considered to be especially vulnerable to

this disease. The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Ministry, meanwhile, intends to halt imports of

bonemeal, but it has not yet prohibited domestic

production. This dull response begs the question, does

the ministry fully sense the danger from the disease?

 

Initially, the Heath Ministry was reluctant to carry

out a thorough testing of cattle, saying it would be

difficult because of, among other things, the lack of

testing capabilities. But the ministry hastily changed

its policy and decided to introduce a testing program

on a par with those of Europe following an explosion

of public criticism and anxiety among consumers.

 

The protein prions that are the source of mad cow

disease exist in the brain, spinal cord, eyes and

other parts of cattle, but usually do not appear in

the meat or milk used for human consumption. As it is

necessary when cattle are slaughtered to make sure

that these parts are not attached to the meat to be

consumed, there is no cause for immediate alarm about

meat safety. Some schools have stopped serving beef at

lunch, but this seems to be going a little too far.

 

Confidence in the administration of countermeasures is

essential to encourage consumers to behave calmly and

to prevent scaremongering. Following the diagnosis of

mad cow disease in Chiba Prefecture, the Agriculture

Ministry falsely announced that the infected cow had

been incinerated -- when the truth was that bonemeal

processed from the cow had been distributed to feed

warehouses.

 

The first step in eradicating an infectious disease is

cutting off the source of infection. Mad cow disease

does not spread directly from cow to cow or from cow

to human. Cattle are infected if they eat the bonemeal

processed from a diseased animal. Infected bonemeal is

thought to be the main source.

 

In 1996, the Agriculture Ministry issued guidelines

that said bonemeal processed from cattle could be fed

to pigs and chickens but should not be fed to other

cattle. However, compound cattle feed mixtures that

included bonemeal from cattle has been used in several

prefectures. The administrative guidance and

notification did not reach as far as the farms.

 

Imports of bonemeal from Europe, which was the source

of mad cow disease, had increased rapidly until last

year. Although it is difficult to specifically

identify the infection route in the case of the cow in

Chiba Prefecture, it is fair to suggest that the cow

became infected because of the use of feed made from

scrap meat and bonemeal.

 

So far, testing has been slipshod. Undoubtedly, there

have been oversights. If testing is implemented

thoroughly, the number of cows found to have the

disease can be expected to increase. Even now, there

remains the danger that mad cow disease will spread

via bonemeal, as a cow needs to consume only a small

amount of feed to become infected.

 

Banning the use of scrap meat and bonemeal for cattle

feed won't be enough to break the infection route. As

in Europe, Japan must prohibit the production of such

feed. Since about 40 percent of a cow's body is not

used to produce meat for human consumption, the

incineration of scrap carcasses will add to costs and

place a burden on Japan's environment. About 1.3

million head are slaughtered each year.

 

Nevertheless, Japan should move to ban the production

of bonemeal from scrap meat and bones. There is no

reason why countermeasures that are possible in Europe

cannot be implemented in Japan, too -- even if they

entail an increase in production costs. This is

unavoidable to ensure food safety.

 

The Japan Times: Sept. 29, 2001

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