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Feedban implementation set, enforcement delayed

The Food and DrugAdministration has delayedenforcement of its new restrictions to prevent the spread of BSE among U.S. cattle, according to Dow Jones newswires. The feedban starts on April 27th but enforcement has been moved to October 26th of this year. Earlier this month, the FDA said it would postpone until June26th implementation of the new rule.

The new rule bans the inclusion of cattle brains and spinal cords in ALL animal feed which the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says will create needless expense and waste for the industry.

The FDA says theextra five months would give renderers more time to comply and cattle producers and packers more time to find “appropriate methods” of getting rid of the waste.

NCBA chief veterinarian Elizabeth Parker tells Dow Jones the existing feed ban has proven “highlysuccessful” in protecting the U.S. herd from BSE and the new rule creates high costs and environmental problems with no foreseeable benefit.

he FDA banned feeding bovine material to cattle in 1997 and contends that potentially BSE infected non-cattle feed could getmixed up with cattle feed, therefore, creating unnecessary risk.