Ineffective Feed Band Could have Sparked BSE Case

CANADA - The case of BSE found in a dairy cow in Edmonton in February could have come through cross contamination of feed.
calendar icon 19 May 2008
clock icon 1 minute read

The 12th case of BSE on Canada was found in an animal born in 2002 - five years after the ban on feeding meat and bonemeal to cattle was introduced.

Half of the cases that have occurred in Canada have been in cattle that were born after the feed band was introduced.

However, while meat and bonemeal was banned for cattle feed, it was still allowed for pigs and poultry and there are concerns that cross contamination of feed either in the feed mill or on the farm could have occurred.

One senior veterinarian, George Luterbach told the Edmonton Journal that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was aware that the feed ban was not 100 per cent effective.

He said that the CFIA did not recall old bags of potentially contaminated feed containing rendered cattle parts, which was allowed to remain on farms for some time.

Also, he said, the ban created two types of feed - one for cattle and another for pigs and poultry.

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