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FDA may recall pet food due to mad cow



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 27th 03, 04:06 PM
Steve
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Posts: n/a
Default 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."


  #2  
Old December 27th 03, 06:05 PM
Barb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hi, Steve,

I read a daily newspaper and watch the news and haven't seen much there if
anything about pet food. I hope you will continue to keep us up to date on
this.

--
Barb
I can only please one person a day.
Today is not your day.
Tomorrow doesn't look good either.


  #3  
Old December 27th 03, 06:05 PM
Barb
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hi, Steve,

I read a daily newspaper and watch the news and haven't seen much there if
anything about pet food. I hope you will continue to keep us up to date on
this.

--
Barb
I can only please one person a day.
Today is not your day.
Tomorrow doesn't look good either.


  #6  
Old December 29th 03, 12:57 AM
Cat Protector
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Default

I believe you may be mis-informed. I read that even our own United States
Government will not allow sick animals into the food change. I have no idea
how you can state that they allow sick cows to be put into the food chain.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"Lucifer" wrote in message
...
The problem is that in most countries, all cows are tested.
In the USA, they are not.
The problem is that in most countries, sick animals (downers) are not
permitted into the food supply.
In the USA they are.
The problem is that in most countries, animal byproducts are not put
into the food supply of herbivores.
In the USA, they are.
The problem is that most countries have decided that the Americans can
regulate their beef industries any way they want, and those countries
can do the same.
And those countries are regulating their beef industries by banning
imports of US beef.
Which is precisely what the Americans did when some of those countries
experienced BSE outbreaks.

Feel free to eat all the beef you want; nobody's telling you not to,
your odds are pretty good.

But few people, especially foreigners, have any faith in the
pronouncements of the current US government.

And the US beef industry is going to suffer.

I, too, worry about the safety of pet food.

It's nearly unregulated.


"GAUBSTER2" wrote in message
...
From: olitter (PawsForThought)

What's scarey is that some pet
foods which just list "meat" by-products or "animal" fat, so the

source
is
completely unknown.

No, what's scary is the way the news media is freaking everybody out.

More
people die from auto accidents than from BSE (same for pets) by far.

Nobody is
freaking out over driving their car.

Looks like bad news for the pet food industry. What a mess.

Lauren, why don't you wait to editorialize after you find out just how

much
"pet food" came from this one cow. I know you have an agenda, but

geez!
This
isn't "bad news" for the pet food industry. I doubt there are any big
companies that buy meat from that one little farm and couldn't have

made
much
"pet food" from that one cow's brain and spinal cord.




  #7  
Old December 29th 03, 12:57 AM
Cat Protector
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I believe you may be mis-informed. I read that even our own United States
Government will not allow sick animals into the food change. I have no idea
how you can state that they allow sick cows to be put into the food chain.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"Lucifer" wrote in message
...
The problem is that in most countries, all cows are tested.
In the USA, they are not.
The problem is that in most countries, sick animals (downers) are not
permitted into the food supply.
In the USA they are.
The problem is that in most countries, animal byproducts are not put
into the food supply of herbivores.
In the USA, they are.
The problem is that most countries have decided that the Americans can
regulate their beef industries any way they want, and those countries
can do the same.
And those countries are regulating their beef industries by banning
imports of US beef.
Which is precisely what the Americans did when some of those countries
experienced BSE outbreaks.

Feel free to eat all the beef you want; nobody's telling you not to,
your odds are pretty good.

But few people, especially foreigners, have any faith in the
pronouncements of the current US government.

And the US beef industry is going to suffer.

I, too, worry about the safety of pet food.

It's nearly unregulated.


"GAUBSTER2" wrote in message
...
From: olitter (PawsForThought)

What's scarey is that some pet
foods which just list "meat" by-products or "animal" fat, so the

source
is
completely unknown.

No, what's scary is the way the news media is freaking everybody out.

More
people die from auto accidents than from BSE (same for pets) by far.

Nobody is
freaking out over driving their car.

Looks like bad news for the pet food industry. What a mess.

Lauren, why don't you wait to editorialize after you find out just how

much
"pet food" came from this one cow. I know you have an agenda, but

geez!
This
isn't "bad news" for the pet food industry. I doubt there are any big
companies that buy meat from that one little farm and couldn't have

made
much
"pet food" from that one cow's brain and spinal cord.




 




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