The Department of Agriculture has lifted the temporary ban on meat and bone meal imports from the United States after an official confirmation from global health authorities on the controlled-risk status of the mad cow disease in that country, a DA press release said.
DA Secretary Arthur Yap said in a memorandum that the World Animal Health Organization or the Office International des Epizooties has adopted a resolution recognizing the US as "Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy controlled risk" based on the provisions of the OIE's Terrestrial Code.
Controlled risk means there has been no case of BSE or mad cow disease, or if there has been a case, every case has been demonstrated to have been imported and has been completely destroyed, the press release said.
Yap noted that the US Food and Drug Administration finalized additional restrictions to its Feed Rule with the implementation of the “cattle material prohibited from animal feed” to decrease the risk of BSE there.
The US meat industry is regulated closely by state and federal agencies, which routinely inspect rendering facilities for compliance with applicable regulations and finished product safety tolerances, Yap said in his directive.
Yap said the DA has also confirmed that "meat and bone meal and other animal protein products are regulated and verified by the USFDA for compliance with BSE-related regulations and chemical residue tolerances."
Moreover, the US meat industry uses internal controls to maintain bio-security and ensures that its finished products are safe and in compliance with all state and federal regulations and tolerances.
The US currently exports MBM to Indonesia, Canada , Europe, South Africa , Malaysia , China , Mexico , Ecuador , Bangladesh , Thailand and Vietnam, the DA press release said.*
Source: businessmirror.com
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