Guest guest Posted December 5, 2001 Report Share Posted December 5, 2001 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20011206a4.htm Mad cow probe turns to fish in cattle-feed mix Livestock farmers widely gave cows a type of feed made from a mixture of powdered fish meal and meat-and-bone meal until the government prohibited the use of meat-and-bone meal in September because of its suspected link to mad cow disease, industry sources said Wednesday. The mixed feed was originally developed for poultry, but many farmers used the feed, known as adjusted fish meal, for cows as well, the sources said. Since the outbreak of mad cow disease in September, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry has been conducting a nationwide study on the use of meat-and-bone meal for cows, but this special kind of fish meal has not been targeted. The ministry learned only recently about the widespread use of adjusted fish meal and is checking whether it had been fed to the three cows that have been found to have mad cow disease, they said. The findings may lead the ministry to expand its survey to include cows that had been given the fish meal. However, it is extremely difficult to distinguish on the basis of appearance between fish meal that is 100 percent derived from fish and the adjusted feed containing meat-and-bone meal, according to the sources. " The only thing we can do is to trust what the raw-ingredient makers say, " an official at a feed manufacturer said. A feed retailer said that if someone wants to confirm the ingredients of fish meal products, the only help would be " written pledges submitted by ingredient makers that they are not using meat-and-bone meal, and on-the-spot inspections. " The farm ministry investigation has so far found that 165 households engaged in livestock farming had given meat-and-bone meal intended for chickens and pigs to a total of 5,129 cows. According to ministry statistics, 195,000 tons of powdered fish meal was produced as the raw material for feed in fiscal 2000. The outbreak in Japan, the first outside Europe, came to light in September when a cow infected with mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, was found. The second case was confirmed in November, and the third was confirmed Sunday. Human consumption of beef infected with BSE is thought to cause a new variant of the fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a brain-wasting illness that has led to the deaths of more than 100 people in Europe. The farm ministry's ongoing probe into the three infected cows suggests Japan might have imported from Europe meat-and-bone meal contaminated with BSE-causing agents. In a related development, members of the Hokkaido chapter of the Japanese Communist Party said Wednesday they suspect at least 3,000 cows on the northernmost main island have been fed steamed bone meal, a variant of meat-and-bone meal. Three local livestock farming households bought the meal, which is made from cow bones, from an unlicensed feed retailer before giving it to their cows, according to the party members. Steamed bone meal is made by steaming the bones of cows and other livestock at 280 degrees. The steamed bones still contain protein and can thus be contagious if the original cows were infected with BSE. On Sept. 18, eight days after the discovery of the first mad cow case, the government prohibited feeding cows meal made from cows by revising regulations under the Feed Safety Law. On Oct. 15, the government stepped up the measure by prohibiting feeding any livestock animals meal containing animal protein. On Nov. 1, based on expert recommendations, the prohibition was partially lifted to allow chickens and pigs to be given feed made from chickens or pigs. Such feed is still banned for cows. Beef prices falling Beef prices came under further pressure following the recent discovery of a third case of mad cow disease in Japan during the government's nationwide inspection of all cattle carcasses, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Wednesday. Weighted average wholesale prices of beef recovered to more than 1,000 yen per kilogram from late October to early November when the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry began screening all carcasses of slaughtered cattle on Oct. 18, after Japan's first case of mad cow disease Sept. 22. The prices plunged to around 600 yen after the second infected cow was found Nov. 21, and the prices fell further to around 500 yen earlier this week after the third case was found Nov. 30. The Japan Times: Dec. 6, 2001 © All rights reserved Send your FREE holiday greetings online! http://greetings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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