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        Compliance & Enforcement

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

                        
                Federal Register Notices on BSE and Animal Feed Regulation
          Ruminant Feed Inspections Home
          Animal & Veterinary
          Compliance & Enforcement
          Bovine Spongiform EncephalopathyCompliance & Enforcement Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
  	
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    PrintBovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) belongs to the unusual group of progressively degenerative neurological diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). TSE diseases are characterized by long incubation periods ranging from several months for transmissible mink encephalopathy, to several years for BSE. During the incubation period there is no visible indication of the disease. In the late 1980’s and early 1990s, BSE spread within the United Kingdom and then to other countries through the practice of using rendered bovine origin proteins as an ingredient in cattle feed. Since then, feed restrictions put in place by countries that may have imported infected cattle or contaminated feed ingredients have been highly effective in reducing the number of BSE cases worldwide.

In 1997, FDA published a final regulation that prohibits the use of most mammalian protein in the manufacture of animal feeds given to ruminant animals, such as cows, sheep, and goats. The rule does not prohibit the use of mammalian protein as an ingredient in feed for non-ruminants, but requires process and control systems to ensure that such use does not cause contamination of ruminant feed during feed manufacture or transport. FDA strengthened the 1997 rule in 2008 by prohibiting the use of the highest risk cattle tissues in ALL animal feed. These high risk cattle materials are the brains and spinal cords from cattle 30 months of age and older, and the entire carcass of cattle not inspected and passed for human consumption, unless the carcasses are shown to be from cattle less than 30 months of age, or the brains and spinal cords have been removed.

To date, six cases of BSE have been detected in the United States. The first case was detected in 2003 in a cow imported from Canada, diagnosed with “typical” BSE, the same strain that caused the outbreak in the United Kingdom. Five more cases have since been detected in U.S. born cattle, but laboratory evidence suggests that these cases had atypical strains of BSE, that is not the same strain that caused the large outbreak in the United Kingdom.

Please direct questions on CVM’s BSE activities to:

Division of Food Compliance (HFV-230)
Office of Surveillance and Compliance
Center for Veterinary Medicine
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
MPN IV Bldg., Room 146
7519 Standish Place
Rockville, MD 20855-2773
Telephone: (240) 402-7002
FAX: (240) 276-9241

Laws/Regulations

Restrictions on importation of meat and edible products (USDA)
	9 CFR 94.18
	BSE/Ruminant Feed Regulations
	21 CFR Part 589.2000
	BSE/Substances Prohibited from Use in Animal Food or Feed
	21 CFR Part 589.2001
	FR Notice - Substances Prohibited From Use in Animal Food or FeedGuidance Documents

CVM GFI #67 Small Entities Compliance Guide for Renderers
	CVM GFI #68 Small Entities Compliance Guide for Protein Blenders, Feed Manufacturers, and Distributors
	CVM GFI #69 Small Entities Compliance Guide for Feeders of Ruminant Animals with On-Farm Feed Mixing Operations
	CVM GFI #70 Small Entities Compliance Guide for Feeders of Ruminant Animals Without On-Farm Feed Mixing Operations
	CVM GFI #76 Questions and Answers BSE Feed Regulations
	CVM GFI #158 Use of Material from Deer and Elk in Animal Feed
	CVM GFI #195 Small Entities Compliance Guide For Renderers—Substances Prohibited From Use In Animal Food Or Feed
	Feed Ban Enhancement: Implementation Questions and Answers
	Management of Certain Cattle Origin Material Pursuant to the Substances Prohibited from Use in Animal Food and Feed Final Rule (EPA)BSE Video List

U.S. Measures to Protect Against BSE
	Preventing the Spread of BSE (video)
	Prevenciόn de la Extensiόn de la EEB (video)Additional Resources

Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack: World Organization for Animal Health Recommends United States' BSE Risk Status Be Upgraded
	Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and human biologics (CBER)
	Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Cosmetics (CFSAN)
	Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow Disease (CDC)
	BSE (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA)
	CVM en español
	All About BSE (Mad Cow Disease)

                                                                                  Content current as of:
      04/25/2023Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy                
                          

                        Federal Register Notices on BSE and Animal Feed Regulation
          Ruminant Feed Inspections
 
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