cat - FDA may recall pet food due to mad cow

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration might have to
recall units of pet food that contained material from the first documented
case of mad cow in the United States, an agency official said Wednesday.

The USDA announced late Tuesday that a cow in Mabton, Wash., had tested
positive for mad cow disease.

The FDA has "a couple of teams on the ground in Washington" attempting to
trace where the material from the cow went, but so far it does not know if
the tissue was processed into pet food, Dr. Lester Crawford, FDA's deputy
commissioner, told United Press International.

"If we determine that some of it was headed for pet food, we would likely
recall that," Crawford said. But he noted the agency would not take any
action until it gets confirmation, which probably will occur on Monday.

The main threat among pets is cats because they "are susceptible to BSE," he
said.

Crawford said there is no way of knowing how much pet food would have to be
recalled. But he said the FDA does not consider the infectious agent, called
a prion, can be diluted to safe levels, so even if a small batch of infected
pet food was mixed with a ton of other food, "the ton would have to be
destroyed."

The most infectious parts of the diseased cattle -- the brain and spinal
cord -- most likely went to a rendering facility. Some rendering plants will
process those components into pet and animal feed, but others can make a
variety of things, including fertilizers and building materials, that would
not pose a risk to pets.

FDA officials currently are trying to track down which rendering facility or
facilities received the infected cow material. From there they should know
whether it made it into pet and animal feed, Crawford said. The rendering
plants are required to keep records on where the material went, he noted.

Because the animal was killed relatively recently, on Dec. 9, "it is likely
that the material is still on hand and has not been put into commercial
channels," Crawford said. "We hope that's the case."

Michael Hansen, of Consumers Union, the watchdog group in Yonkers, N.Y.,
said he thinks the FDA ultimately will wind up recalling units of
contaminated pet and animal feed. He noted when a case of mad cow was
detected in Canada last May, authorities there requested a voluntary recall
of dog food they suspected contained infectious tissue from the cow.

"They will have to recall pet food and other feed products," Hansen said. In
addition, "all those rendering plants (the infected cow material passed
through) will be contaminated."