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12-30-2003 |
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Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass is reassuring consumers
that beef on the shelves of West Virginia stores is safe for consumption
and that “mad cow disease” poses a minimal threat to human
health in this country. “BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) is a new disease in
this country, and Americans are justifiably concerned about its
discovery here,” said Commissioner Douglass. “However,
that concern should be directed toward the economic impact this
disease could have on our farmers, not the perceived danger to human
health. The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) has stepped
up agrosecurity activities – such as enhanced communication
with veterinarians and increased disease surveillance programs,
but the BSE discovery points up the continual, naturally occurring
threats American agriculture faces. “The increase in international trade is much more of a threat
to America’s agrosecurity than intentional acts of sabotage,”
said Commissioner Douglass. “Trade is beneficial to our nation,
but it also has its dangers. We can minimize those dangers, but
it takes a serious commitment of time and effort. Our food production
capability in this country is one of the things that makes America
great. As a nation, we must make the protection of our food supply
a top priority.” BSE Q&A Q: What is BSE? A: BSE is a degenerative neurological disease caused by an aberrant
protein called a prion. It is in the family of diseases — all
caused by prions — referred to as transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies, or TSEs. TSEs include scrapie in sheep and goats,
chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease, or CJD, in humans. It's important to note that TSEs are
not readily communicable diseases-they do not spread easily like
viruses. Q: How is BSE spread in cattle? A: Cattle can become infected with BSE by eating feed contaminated
with the infectious BSE agent. This is why in 1997 the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration prohibited the use of most mammalian protein
in the manufacture of animal feed intended for cows and other ruminants.
For more information on the feed ban, please visit the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration’s website at www.fda.gov. Q: How does BSE affect humans? A: A fatal TSE affecting humans, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
(vCJD), is believed to be caused by eating neural tissue, such as
brain and spinal cord, from BSE-affected cattle. For this reason,
USDA requires that all nervous system materials be removed from
downer cattle identified at U.S. slaughter facilities. These specified
risk materials are removed, sent to rendering facilities, and do
not enter U.S. food supply channels. We believe this practice effectively
safeguards U.S. public health from vCJD. Q. Should I stop eating all beef? A. No. Prions have never been found in muscle tissue, only in
nerve tissues. Therefore, muscle cuts of meat are safe for human
consumption. The “t” in the T-bone steak comes from the
area where the vertebrae in the backbone meet the rib. Sometimes
that meeting point still contains a piece of the spinal cord, which
consumers should avoid eating. Q. What about milk? A. Prions have never been detected in milk or milk products. Q. Are people too concerned about the danger BSE poses to human
health? A. Probably. There is no hard proof that humans can actually contract
the human form of the disease by eating infected beef and the disease
is not readily spread among cattle. In an effort to exercise the
utmost caution concerning the food supply, officials assume that
the disease can be spread to humans. Annually, far more people become
ill from bacterial infections caused by undercooked meat and poor
hygienic practices in the kitchen than have ever been suspected
of contracting variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Q: What steps is USDA taking in response to the detection? A: Since 1990, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
and Food Safety Inspection Service have had an emergency response
plan in place to respond to a BSE detection in the United States.
Based on new scientific information and understanding about the
disease, this plan was revised in 1996 and again in 2001, and includes
significant input from federal, state and industry stakeholders.
In short, USDA has been preparing a response plan for a BSE detection
in the United States for many years now, and we are currently carrying
out specific response steps in order to collect necessary information
and continue to safeguard U.S. animal health and the food supply.
Q: What are the risks to the U.S. food supply as a result of this
detection? A: USDA remains confident in the safety of the U.S. food supply.
The risk to human health from BSE is extremely low. As is standard
practice for downer animals identified prior to slaughter, the animal’s
brain, spinal cord, and other related products were removed and
sent to a rendering facility. These so-called “specified risk
materials” present the greatest risk of carrying the BSE agent
and have not entered U.S. food supply channels. The scientific community
believes that there is no evidence to demonstrate that muscle cuts
or whole muscle meats that come from animals infected with BSE are
at risk of harboring the causative agent of the disease. Q: What does the detection mean for U.S. beef exports? A: In accordance with international trade agreements, USDA has
notified the international animal health governing body, the OIE,
of the presumptive positive BSE detection. U.S. trading partners,
including, among others, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and Mexico,
have suspended imports of U.S. beef and beef products. USDA officials
will be working to provide U.S. trading partners and international
animal health officials with information regarding the steps being
taken in response to the detection. Q: How does USDA’s surveillance system for BSE work? A: The positive case of BSE is a result of USDA’s aggressive
and targeted surveillance program for the disease. While unfortunate,
this detection is a clear indication that USDA’s surveillance
and detection program is working as it was designed to work. USDA’s surveillance system targets downer animals at slaughter facilities because scientific information gathered during previous BSE outbreaks in the United Kingdom and other countries has shown that these animals are at the greatest risk of harboring the BSE agent. The scientific record also shows that the disease primarily affects older animals. Last year, USDA tripled testing levels for BSE surveillance, and
this year testing reached an all-time high of 20,526 head of cattle,
or 47 times the level recommended by the OIE, the international
animal health governing body. In other areas, since 1989, USDA has banned imports of live ruminants,
such as cattle, sheep and goats, and most ruminant products from
the United Kingdom and other countries having BSE. The ban was extended
to Europe in 1997. And, as more evidence was accumulated about how
the disease spread, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibited
the use in 1997 of most mammalian protein in the manufacture of
animal feed intended for cows and other ruminants. Q: Is there a number consumers can call with questions about meat
products? A: Consumers with other food safety questions can phone the toll-free
USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline. The hotline is
available in English and Spanish and can be reached from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time), Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety
messages are available 24 hours a day. For more information about BSE, visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse-overview.html.
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Current Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org. |
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©2001, 2002 West Virginia Department of Agriculture, All Rights Reserved |
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