A new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the Netherlands has prompted R-CALF USA to once again request USDA withdraw its Over-30-Months Rule that allows all Canadian cattle born on or after March 1, 1999, to be imported into the United States. Canada does not test older cows at slaughter, despite having detected multiple cases of BSE in its native herd.
Meanwhile the European Commission wants to downgrade its rules guarding against BSE. It has published proposals to reduce the cost of those measures so it can concentrate on conditions such as salmonella and antimicrobial resistance. Part of the proposal would relax rules banning the use of meat and bone meal as feed.
EC said any changes will be based on sound science, although they say it is impossible to remove all risk of the disease entering the food chain. Ending the feed ban could be controversial because feed was the source of the original crisis. Since 1986 the European Commission has culled 4 million cattle, but in recent years the number of BSE cases has been in decline.
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