050117 Meat From Infected Canadian Farm May Have Been Eaten

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - Cattle from the Alberta farm with the most recent case of mad cow disease could have ended up on people's plates, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The agency is tracing 141 cattle born on the same farm, around the same time, as the infected cow.

Dr. Gary Little, senior veterinarian with the inspection agency, said there is evidence some of those cattle have entered the rendering stream and "at least a small number of them have been slaughtered and would have entered the human food system, potentially."

But people should not be concerned, he added.

"The safeguards we have in place and what we know about BSE here in Canada and the broader North America, confirms that those animals, having entered the human food system, would be a very low risk."

Health Canada officials sought to assure the public about the risks to the human population -- mad cow disease has been linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a fatal neurological disorder -- and that there was "a very low risk potential."

"The likelihood of multiple cases in the same birth cohort is a very rare event," said Dr. Paul Mayers of Health Canada's food branch, adding, "we can't say it would be a zero-risk event because zero risk doesn't exist."

A dairy cow tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy on Sunday, four days after the United States announced it would reopen its border to Canadian beef and young cattle.

The infected cow was born on an Alberta farm in October, 1996. Another 93 dairy cattle and 48 beef cattle -- collectively known as a birth cohort -- were born within a year before, or a year after, that date. Of the 93 dairy cattle, 55 were bull calves and would have been slaughtered at less than 24 months of age, before BSE would have been a concern. One of the remaining 38 was identified as a risk and was tested last November as part of the national surveillance program, Dr. Little said. Results were negative for BSE.

The agency has traced another nine dairy cows and has them individually quarantined on two Alberta farms.

The calves born in 2003 and 2004 to the infected cow were also traced. They died of causes unrelated to BSE, Dr. Little said.

Preliminary information shows one cow may have been moved into the United States.

Any cattle located from the birth cohort will be euthanized beginning next week.

"This investigation is moving much faster than the one conducted following the initial case in May of 2003," Dr. Little said.

In reaction to that first case of BSE, the inspection agency slaughtered and tested more than 2,000 cattle connected to a sick Black Angus. All tested negative for the disease.

"The two situations differ vastly," Dr. Little said.

"In our first case, we lacked specific detailed information about the infected herd's birthplace and lifelong movements. In this case, however, we were quickly able to establish where and when the animal was born."

After the initial mad-cow discovery in the spring of 2003, another infected animal in the United States was found to have come from a Canadian cow. The country's beleaguered cattle industry estimates that border closures following the first case have cost $4-billion.

The second confirmed Canadian case has caused less of a stir because it never entered the food chain.

Opposition agriculture critic Diane Finley praised CFIA officials for their quick handling of the investigation but urged the government to "harmonize and standardize" feed standards with the United States so as to remove all doubt that Canadian beef is safe.

That one of the cows from the index case's herd might have been shipped to the U.S. will also undoubtedly fuel partisan concerns in Congress, which has vowed to launch an investigation into Canadian feed practices.

Though the U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it will open its border to Canadian cattle under the age of 30 months this March, some legislators have fought the measure and continue to rail against Canada's industry, which exports more than $1-billion in livestock annually.

CanWest News Service reported that the CFIA has identified possible violations of the 1997 ban on rendering ruminants to be used in cattle feed. According to an internal report, testing found four brands of cattle feed had animal material in them despite being sold as being animal-free.

Dr. Little said the CFIA has no reason to doubt the integrity of the feed system and that it's possible the animal proteins found in the feed and feed ingredients came from pigs or chickens, which are not covered by the ban.

"We have every confidence in the feed ban and the feed system. We are constantly evaluating and auditing the system, but it's important to remember that the surveillance efforts across North America, north and south of the border, confirm the effectiveness of the ban," he said.

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