300 US Companies Violating Mad Cow Rules

News: Mad Cow Prevention Rules Violated by 300 U.S.
Companies

Family Farm Defenders and Friends of the Earth made public a list of
Mad Cow prevention rule violators in an Oct. 10 news release below.

You can find the full list of violators at www.foe.org/factoryfarms as well as an assessment of some of the flaws in FDA's oversight (also attached to this message if your email system allows attachments).

Instructions on how to access the FDA database and find violators follows the news release.

An FDA announcement dated Oct. 10 is at:
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/index/updates/bsedata.htm

- - - -
NEWS RELEASE

Family Farm Defenders
Friends of the Earth

For Immediate Release
October 10, 2003

Contacts: Larry Bohlen, 202-783-7400, ext. 251,
202-270-1547 cell
John Kinsman, 608-986-3815, 608-260-0900 alt

Mad Cow Prevention Rules Violated by 300 U.S. Companies FDA Asked to Take Action to Protect Public Health and Farmers

Washington, D.C. - A total of 300 U.S. companies are in violation of
federal regulations meant to prevent Mad Cow disease, also known as
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). The data comes from the Food
and Drug Administration's (FDA) own database of animal feed company
inspection records updated this week for the first time in 17 months
The number of companies violating the law is more than double the
number listed by the FDA in April 2002.

The regulations are meant to prevent cattle and other ruminant parts from being fed to cattle and other ruminants, a form of animal cannibalization once commonly practiced and now considered most likely to spread Mad Cow disease. The disease is suspected
of causing a deadly brain disorder in humans called Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease. Human symptoms, which may not appear for 20 years, include hallucinations,
loss of memory, dementia, uncontrollable crying or screaming, and inability to speak or walk. There is no known cure for the disease which is always fatal.

"Just one bad apple in the barrel could put Americans a risk of getting Mad Cow disease," said Brent Blackwelder, president of Friends of the Earth, the group that disclosed the increase in violators as well as numerous lapses in FDA data. "In addition
to the risks posed to consumers, it would cost the U.S. cattle industry billions to recover, just like it cost the Canadian cattle industry earlier this year."

As part of its prevention program, the FDA inspects feed companies in the United States to determine whether they are in compliance with federal Mad Cow prevention rules, which include keeping feed made with cattle parts separate from feed for cattle and labeling feed with the banned material. The company database is maintained
by the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. A new version was posted at
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/index/bse/RuminantFeedInspections.htm Oct. 7.

Of 300 firms in violation of FDA regulations, 173 handle or distribute prohibited materials. And 32 of these handle both prohibited materials and ruminant feed, making them the most likely firms to spread Mad Cow disease. Additionally, 1779 records out of 11,172 have no listing of any action taken by the FDA after it completed its own inspection.

"Given the terrible costs to Canadian farmers of just one mad cow, you would think that the FDA would have perfected their system by now. If cattle ranchers and dairy operators want to know where to buy safe feed, the information available from FDA is insufficient," said John Kinsman, who owns dairy cattle and is president of the Wisconsin-based group Family Farm Defenders. A bull in Canada was infected with Mad Cow in May 2003 and an eighth incidence of Mad Cow was announced in Japan this week. No reports have occurred in the United States, but only 9 percent
of downer cattle (animals that cannot walk, exhibit symptoms of neurological disease,
and/or that die or are killed for reasons other than routine slaughter) are tested in the United States compared to 100 percent in the European Union and Japan.

"As long as U.S. federal oversight is weaker than that in other nations and loopholes in Mad Cow prevention regulations exist, the safest way for individuals to avoid the disease is to eat organic, grass fed beef or know the farmer who produced it," continued Kinsman.

# # #

For a listing of the 300 firms out of compliance and an assessment of the FDA database of mad cow prevention inspection records, see www.foe.org/factoryfarms.

The mission of Family Farm Defenders (FFD) is to create a farmer-controlled and consumer-oriented food and fiber system, based upon democratically controlled institutions that empower farmers to speak for and respect themselves in their quest for
social and economic justice. FFD has worked to create opportunities for farmers to join
together in new cooperative endeavors, form a mutual marketing agency, and forge alliances with consumers through providing high quality food products while returning a fair price to farmers.

Friends of the Earth is the world's largest environmental network with member groups in 70 countries. The mission of Friends of the Earth is to defend the environment and champion a healthy and just world. For more information, visit www.foe.org

- - - -
finding records on the FDA website:

see http://www.accessdata3.fda.gov/BSEInspect/

for the two categories of violations, go to "Last BSE District Decision"

1) click on Official Action Indicated and hit Submit
2) click on Voluntary Action Indicated and hit Submit

# # #

------ End of Forwarded Message