BSE Warning Cont'd

Bob Mac asked for an explanation of some of the terms in my BSE-Warning.html" target="_new">Bse Warning post. I will try, I am not an expert but I do understand the gist of it. Please forgive me if I don't cover all points.

The first part of the press release talks about Specified Risk Materials (SRM). SRMs are tissues that will typically contain the prions associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an affected animal. These prions are the method of infection that can be passed on to other animals and humans. Specified risk materials (SRMs) are excluded from the human food chain as a precautionary measure to further enhance public health protection. SRMs will include the skull, brain, eyes, tonsils, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia and distal ileum (portion of small intestine) of all cattle. The USDA does not want to include all these materials as being excluded from the human food chain as practiced by countries that have been dealing with BSE longer than we have such as the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU). I would assume the USDA is doing this since it is harder and more expensive for the meat packers to remove these materials (SRM) from the animal so the rule is more lenient.

The second part I am not completly sure about myself but the way I read it is the USDA's rule does not target for testing/surveillance of all cattle that are at risk for BSE, just some of them. Reasearching it I haven't been able to come up with any better. I pay R-Calf to keep track of this stuff for me and I trust them in this regard.

I cannot see any way to say the third part any better. Canada has not enforced its feed ban for a long enough time to be considered minimal risk for BSE.

Like I said I understand some of the jabber and trust R-calf in this matter, that's what I pay them money for. Hopefully I informed you a little. If not sorry.

A little inaccuracy sometimes saves tons of explanation. H.H. Munro