Canadians Confirm a New Case of Mad Cow Disease

NY Times ^ | January 12, 2005 | CLIFFORD KRAUSS

[neverdem]

TORONTO, Jan. 11 - Canadian officials said Tuesday that they had found a new case of mad cow disease, a report made more worrisome because the cow was born after feed restrictions intended to prevent the spread of the disease were put in place in 1997.

It was the second infected cow from the western province of Alberta found in the two weeks since the Bush administration announced that it would soon allow imports of young Canadian cattle, for the first time since the initial case was found in May 2003. But in the other recent case, the cow was nearly 8 years old, born before the feed restrictions.

The new case is likely to strengthen a legal challenge to the administration's decision, which as of March 7 would allow the import of cows under the age of 30 months as well as of an expanded variety of beef. The challenge, filed Monday by a group of Montana ranchers, said the import of Canadian livestock would endanger public health and American cattle.

The Department of Agriculture said it would not immediately change its decision, but it said it was sending a technical team to Canada to investigate and left open the possibility that it could change course depending on the findings.

The news sent cattle prices in the Chicago commodity market to a 13-month high.

No human consumers of Canadian beef on either side of the border are known to have been infected by the spread of the brain-wasting disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy. But the outbreak has cost the Canadian cattle industry $4 billion and more than 6,000 jobs, and it has caused hardship in many small communities in the prairie provinces.

Many of Canada's trading partners closed their markets to Canada's beef after the 2003 case was discovered. But the American ban has caused particular bitterness among Canadian cattle ranchers, who say Americans use nearly identical ranching practices and accuse American ranchers who want to block imports of protectionism. Canada supplied 5 percent of American beef supplies before the ban.

Canadian ranchers say mad cow disease must also be in the United States, but all three sick cows found in Canada and one more found in the United States in December 2003 were born and raised in Canada.

Canadian officials tried to discount concerns on Tuesday at a nationally televised news conference in Ottawa. The agriculture minister, Andrew Mitchell, said, "We continue to have confidence in the integrity of our current feed ban and that it protects animal and human health."

He ordered the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to do a detailed investigation into what the infected cow was fed early in its life and to trace its food sources.

The sick cow was born in March 1998, months after the United States and Canada instituted bans on feed that contained protein made from livestock and other ruminants.

Mad cow disease is thought to be caused by misfolded proteins known as prions, which cause other proteins to misfold, leading to brain damage and other problems. It is believed to spread through once common feeding practices, like making feed from certain animal byproducts and conserving the milk of dairy cattle for sale by feeding their calves cattle blood.

Officials at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said they believed that the cow was probably infected by eating food produced before the ban.

The officials said they expected more sick cattle to be found in the Canadian herd, although they argued that there was no danger to any consumers since the organs believed to be infected by prions - brains, spinal cords and retinas - are removed in slaughterhouses on both sides of the border and are not eaten.

Ron DeHaven, the administrator of the United States Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, released a statement saying "we remain confident" in Canada's efforts to limit mad cow disease.

Canadian cattle industry officials reacted to the news of the new case with concern.

"Surely I don't like it," said Doug Hetherington, owner of Roberge Transport Inc., Canada's largest livestock truck fleet. "It seems like as soon we get some sort of a commitment from the U.S. government, then all of a sudden we have problems."

Peter Lurie, deputy director of health research at Public Citizen, a consumer group, said Tuesday that it was "suicidal to import cattle from Canada at this time."

"The fact that this cow was born after the feed ban is proof that the feed ban was not effectively enforced," he said. "One of the pillars of the Bush administration's argument that it's safe to open the border is that it's had that feed ban in place."

Donald G. McNeil Jr. contributed reporting from New York for this article.

[neverdem]

Canada Finds Third Case of Mad Cow Disease

By Marc Kaufman Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, January 12, 2005; Page A07

Canadian officials have found a third animal infected with mad cow disease -- an almost 7-year-old beef cow with no known connection to the other infected cattle.

The cow was born after Canada banned the use of cattle feed that includes animal parts to try to keep the deadly infection from spreading. But officials of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said use of contaminated feed was the most likely source of infection.

It was the second discovery of an infected cow in Canada in two weeks, and both came just after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a controversial plan to reopen the border to imports of live Canadian cattle. The United States halted trade in live cattle from Canada after the first infected animal was discovered there in 2003.

Despite the two new cases, the USDA said it will resume cross-border trade.

"We remain confident that the animal and public health measures that Canada has in place to prevent [mad cow disease], combined with existing U.S. domestic safeguards, provide the utmost protections to U.S. consumers and livestock," said W. Ron DeHaven, administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. "The result of our investigation and analysis will be used to evaluate appropriate next steps."

Because the newly discovered animal was born after Canada....

[The Teen Conservative]

Oh boy. Down goes the beef market.

[TXBSAFH]

I did no know it was that time of the month for Hiltery.

[shubi]

There really is very little risk from mad cow now. The slaughter techniques have been changed to provide little risk of contamination in the human food supply.

[aimhigh]

I keep waiting for publication of the feed company's name. Who's being protected?

[headsonpikes]

Dang! It's still not about Maria Minna!

[GeekDejure]

I didn't know Howard Dean moved to Canada !!! ;-))

[neverdem]

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.

[riri]

Even with marshmallows and gelatin type things? I cringe everytime my kids want marshmallows in their hot cocoa? (I know I am a worry wart)

[shubi]

There is a very slight chance of contracting the disease.
The slaughter techniques minimize exposure to brain or spinal tissue that transmits the disease.

The controls are quite good. You have more of a chance of getting hit by an anvil dropped off a building.

[JustAnotherOkie]

Those Canadians need to quit having sex with cows.

[snowsislander]

The slaughter techniques minimize exposure to brain or spinal tissue that transmits the disease.

Hmmm. I haven't really looked at this side of things, but I have been in a few small-time (not major) slaughterhouses over the years, and based on that very, very minimal amount of experience I would agree on the brain tissue, but are you sure about the spinal areas? Are they no longer cutting at all into the spinal area?

I did a quick google, and it looks to me that beef neckbones are still a normal cut, and are still for sale:

NATURAL BALANCE® BEEF HIND SHANK BONES

Natural Balance® Beef Neck Bones with Meat Attached. Very meaty bones. Our beef Neck Bones are fresh frozen, vacuum packed, one whole neck (cut in half) per package. Each half neck weighs 5 - 6 lbs. Case weight approximately 35 lbs - 3 packages per case. Our bones are not for retail sale, they are for wildlife facilities only.

Supplied in waterproof cartons; 3 packages (3 whole necks cut in half) 35 lbs. per case.

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Natural Balance® Beef Neck Bones with Meat Attached are USDA INSPECTED from edible-meat processing plants.

Recommended as a periodic substitute for soft diets.

Provides additional enjoyment, psychological enhancement and affords EXERCISE OF THE MOUTH AND JAW STRUCTURES of both carnivorous mammals and birds of prey. Very meaty bones.

Suggested feeding: It is recommended that animals on a soft diet be fed bones one to two times a week.

FRESH FROZEN, VACUUM PACKED. Thaws easily in leak-proof packages. Supplied in waterproof cartons.

Please call for further information at 1 (800) 829-4493 or email: zoovet@naturalbalanceinc.com

STORAGE AND HANDLING

Proper storage, handling and preparation methods are imperative for raw meat-based diets. This carnivore diet must be stored at freezer temperatures until needed at 0¡F and below, then thawed under refrigeration. Do not thaw at room temperature. Thawed meat should not be refrozen.

Not Intended for Human Consumption. KEEP FROZEN

Notice that while these are not for human consumption, the company claims that they were processed in "USDA INSPECTED from edible-meat processing plants".

Other places have beef neckbones on sale for human consumption. Here's a partial list from Houser Meats, which sells meat to consumers:

 

Beef                           Price per pound              

Ground Beef Bulk 80% lean       2.29

Ground Beef Patties                     2.49

Ground Round(10 lb minimum)     2.90  

Beef Liver                               1.99

Beef Tongue                          4.00

Beef Heart                             1.00

Beef Oxtail                              1.99

Beef Sweetbreads                 1.25

Beef Neckbones                       .60

Chuck Roast                          2.25

Am I missing something here? There's plenty of spinal tissue in the neckbone. Or did I just manage to find old websites, and these items are no longer for sale?

[Paleo Conservative]

[Condor51]

***You have more of a chance of getting hit by an anvil dropped off a building.***

An anvil once fell on my sister's head.

Wait... no, I'm sorry -- she was bit by a moose. :-)

[neverdem]

Who's that, Paul Martin?

[Paleo Conservative]

No, Cretin.

[genefromjersey]

Hillary Clinton responds: "I wasn't really mad-just a bit out of sorts."

[neverdem]

LOL!

[Freebird Forever]

Canada Traces Four Cows to U.S. in Mad Cow Search

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has traced three more cows from an Alberta dairy farm to the United States as part of an investigation into its second case of mad cow disease, an official said on Wednesday.

snip

Last Friday, Canadian and U.S. officials said they had traced one cow to the United States.

Now, records show three more cows were exported. No information was immediately available on whether the exported cows are still alive on U.S. farms, Charette said.

Wetbacks from the south. Contaminated livestock from the north.

Gotta love those open borders.

[neverdem]

Thanks for the link!