Top 10 BSE Facts Every Cattleman Should Know

Although it has been over a year since the single case of BSE was discovered in a Canadian cow, the thought of another discovery – or word of an inconclusive test – grabs cattlemen’s attention very quickly. However, the facts show there is little to be worried about.

Nonetheless, if another case was discovered in the United States, it would likely make the evening news, and it is possible local reporters could come calling on you, a local beef producer, requesting an interview on the situation. You need to be prepared. You need to know the facts.

Feed-Lot magazine visited with NCBA’s Vice President of Research and Knowledge, Dr. Bo Reagan, about the Top 10 Facts every cattleman should know about BSE. We encourage you keep this page of your magazine for future reference, just in case you are faced with such questions.

Here are the facts, with an explanation of each by Dr. Reagan.

1) Scientists, medical professionals, and government officials agree that BSE is not a public health risk in the United States. We have never had a case of new variant CJD – the human form of BSE – in the United States. Research in the United Kingdom supports an association of new variant CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) and BSE. Variant CJD likely developed as a result of people consuming products contaminated with central nervous system tissue of BSE-infected cattle

2) Because of the progressive steps taken by the U.S. government during the past 15 years, U.S. beef is safe from BSE. The U.S. has been on top of FSE since the first case was diagnosed in the U.K. in 1986. The U.S. sent a team to study the U.K. situation, and firewalls were put into place. The U.S. was the first country in the world to start a surveillance program in 1990, testing cattle for the disease. And in 1997, the USDA implemented the feed ban on ruminate-derived proteins. Scientists world-wide agree that is how to stop BSE.

3) BSE infectivity has not been found in beef such as steaks, roasts, and ground beef. The BSE agent has never been found in muscle tissue. Tests on the muscle of naturally and experimentally infected cattle have been negative for BSE, even in advanced stages of the disease. Documented studies report that in naturally infected cattle, the BSE agent has only been found in central nervous system tissue, such as brain and spinal cord and in retina tissue.

4) USDA regulations prohibit anything that might carry BSE from entering the food supply, such as the brain and spinal cord. These “specified risk materials” or SRMs are removed from every animal, even healthy ones.

5) Even if another case of BSE is found in the U.S., consumers can remain confident in the safety of U.S. beef and that the risk of BSE to humans is near zero. Scientists have a very good understanding that BSE is not found in muscle meats. The NCBA has done a lot to educate consumers to this fact, and it’s working. Surveys conducted every six weeks show U.S. customer confidence has not wavered. There is an 89-91% customer confidence in the U.S. beef supply.

6) The feed ban breaks the cycle of BSE and, with full compliance, assures the disease will be eliminated. FDA reports feed ban compliance exceeds 99 percent. In 1996, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association launched a voluntary feed ban, which established an industry standard against feeding ruminant-derived protein to cattle. In 1997, with NCBA’s support, the FDA made the ban mandatory. The U.S. beef industry utilizes plant-derived protein products, such as soybean and cottonseed meal, even before the feed ban was enacted.

7) USDA banned from the human food supply any cattle unable to walk or show signs or possible neurological disease. In January, 2005, the USDA enacted this rule. Since BSE is not found in muscle tissue, from a scientific and realistic standpoint, they USDA is going beyond the point of what is expected to ensure BSE-infected tissue does not enter the food chain.

8) The U.S. began an active surveillance for BSE in May 1990. In June 2004, USDA increased the scope of BSE surveillance and the goal of the program is to test as many targeted cattle as possible over a 12-18 month period. To date the enhanced surveillance program as tested more than 242,019 cattle since June, 2004. USDA says this sample size will allow for detection of the disease if it exists in the U.S., even if it exists at a rate as low as one positive per 10 million adult cattle. The Harvard Risk Assessment says that even if we found four or five positive cases, there is a very low risk of BSE in this country.

9) BSE is not a contagious disease and does not spread from animal to animal. Instead BSE spreads through feed containing meat and bone meal derived from BSE-infected cattle. The U.S. banned the use of ruminant-derived protein in 1997. Scientists looked at the five cases in Canada and cases in Europe. They used trace back systems and harvested those animals that came in contact with infected cattle. They never found another case of BSE spread from animal to animal.

10) Since 2001, the U.K. has tested nearly 1.4 million cattle and no cattle under 30 months of age tested positive. The majority of cattle consumed are less than 30 months of age. Worldwide, a few have tested positive at less than 30 months of age, but they were born and raised during a time of high infection in those countries. Once these countries put a feed ban in place, they no longer have found cattle with the disease at less than 30 months of age.

For more information on BSE, log onto www.BSEinfo.org.