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Feed supply is key to preventing spread of mad cow disease
by Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public Radio
January 13, 2004

Most feed mills use computer automated systems to mix feed. Experts say automation helps protect the feed supply from BSE contamination. (MPR photo/Dan Gunderson)

The federal government says a feed ban imposed in 1997 is one of the best protections against mad cow disease in the United States. The disease is spread when cattle eat feed containing the remains of infected animals. How safe is the American cattle feed supply? Experts say there are many safeguards in place, but there are also some weak spots.

Fargo, ND — The animal feed industry is a great recycling system. Millions of animals are slaughtered every year in the U.S. After the meat is cut up for human consumption, the leftovers go to a rendering plant. The carcass is turned in to meat meal, bone meal, and fat. The rendering plant also processes all the plate waste from restaurants. Experts say about 9 billion pounds of animal protein are processed every year.

The meat and bone meal is a good source of protein, so it's mixed with grains and other nutrients and fed back to animals.

It's a respectable industry, but then within all industries there's a certain amount of somebody trying to make a quick buck, or trying to avoid '60 Minutes' helicopters flying around their operation. - Association of Feed Control Officials President Ben Jones

Cattle get mad cow disease by eating feed containing the remains of other infected cattle. Since 1997 there's been a ban on feeding cattle protein back to cattle. But the cattle protein can be fed to other species. It's used to make feed for poultry, swine and horses. And cattle can eat feed made from poultry, swine and horse remains.

For convenience and economy, most companies make feed for all species in the same mill. "Ideally you would want two separate production facilities. That very seldom in this country is the case," says Kim Koch.

Koch manages a small feed mill at North Dakota State University in Fargo, and trains mill operators from around the world. Several commercial feed mills declined to talk about their operations. But Kim Koch agreed to explain the process. This mill makes feed only for university research animals. And it doesn't handle any animal protein, so there's no concern about protecting cattle feed from Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy.

This mill is computerized, as are most commercial feed mills, according to Kim Koch. He says at most mills, a feed recipe is entered in the computer and an automated system mixes the ingredients.

"Say I'm making beef feed. I can choose from 150 ingredients," says Koch. "But three of those ingredients have red flags on them. If you write the formula, put it in the computer and say go, make it, it won't because it will say I can't because this material is banned."

Computers can stop an operator from accidentally putting the cattle protein in cattle feed. The computer also provides detailed records of what ingredients went into each batch of feed. That allows feed mills to double check all their work.

But the computer protections are only as good as the people who enter the data, says Kim Koch. Someone has to tell the computer which bins hold the cattle protein that can't be mixed with cattle feed.

	Kim Koch

In 2001 a Texas feed mill accidentally mixed cattle protein into a batch of cattle feed. It wasn't caught until a few days later when someone noticed a discrepancy as they inventoried ingredients. The company quickly notified state and federal regulators. The cattle herd was quarantined. The Federal Food and Drug Administration uses the case as an example of industry and regulators working together to protect the food supply.

It's the federal governments job to inspect feed mills. In many states they contract with state agencies who actually do most of the inspections.

Kim Koch says most feed mills are very careful about how they handle material once it's in their facility. His real concern is what happens before ingredients get to the feed mill.

On a concrete ramp just outside the mill, Koch points to a metal grate in the floor. It's a potential weak point in the system, he says. "This is the receiving pit. This one happens to be kind of small because this is not a very large mill. But there are receiving pits where you can dump a semi truck in 20 seconds."

A truck or a rail car may dump a load of grain for the mill. But what if the previous load was processed cattle protein?

That's not supposed to happen. Transportation companies are required to give the mill operator a letter that guarantees the load is uncontaminated with cattle protein. But there's no inspection to back up that guarantee.

"It's just a letter, and often times they're just copies of a copy of a copy," says Kim Koch. It's primarily a paper wall. It's as strong as the peoples ethics that are signing the letter."

Several feed companies declined to be interviewed for this story, but American Feed Industry Association Vice President Richard Sellers agrees transportation of feed ingredients is a concern.

"The BSE feed rule promulgated by FDA in 1997 is indeed a record keeping rule," says Sellers. "We have big concerns about trucks being cleaned out prior to putting in a new ingredient. That's the ingredient suppliers responsibility to clean that truck out."

Under federal law, having the right paperwork protects suppliers and feed mills from responsibility if they handle contaminated feed. But it's what one expert calls a paper firewall.

That means feed industry regulation is only as strong as it's weakest link, according to American Association of Feed Control Officials President Ben Jones, who also works for a Texas state regulatory agency that has oversight of feed mills.

Jones says the feed industry has good safeguards to prevent mad cow disease, but there's little margin for error.

"It's a respectable industry but then within all industries there's a certain amount of somebody trying to make a quick buck, or trying to avoid "60 Minutes" helicopters flying around their operation," says Jones.

AAFCO wants tougher regulations on the transportation of of feed ingredients, says Jones. He says that's one of the top concerns of feed industry regulators around the country.

Another big concern is on farm feed mills. More than a million farms make their own feed with little or no oversight, although many states provide educational materials for farmers who make their own feed. AAFCO President Ben Jones says after the Washington state mad cow case, many states are trying to decide how they can get more regulatory control of on farm feed mills.

"Maybe there's not a problem out there on the farm," says Jones. "But we don't know. That's the concern. What's happening on the farm? It's not that it's bad. We don't know is the point."

Feed industry regulators are also concerned about cross contamination of feed. There's a specific scenario that most worries Ben Jones.

Meat meal made from cattle is fed to chickens, a perfectly legal use of the material. Then the waste on the floor of the chicken barn is scooped up, processed and mixed with cattle feed. Feed industry spokesman Richard Sellers says there's no evidence the prions that cause BSE pass through the chickens digestive system. But AAFCO's Ben Jones worries spilled chicken feed could put prohibited cattle protein back into the cattle feed.

Feed production is primarily regulated by federal law. Ben Jones expects many state legislatures to look for ways to increase state regulation. He's concerned that could lead to a patchwork of regulatory laws across the country.

Jones says states like Minnesota, California, Pennsylvania and Texas have been leaders in regulating the feed industry. He says those states have taken a proactive approach to feed mill inspections, often doing more than required by federal regulations.

American Feed Industry Association Vice President Richard Sellers insists large and small companies are following the rules. As evidence, he points to the small number of violations the Food and Drug Administration has found at feed mills.

Sellers says the feed industry supports more federal funding to increase the inspection of feed companies and farm operated feed mills. He'd also like to see more oversight of the transportation of feed ingredients.

Sellers says the industry understands there is no room for mistakes. "We think everyone must comply equally and our goal is 100 percent inspection for the agency and the money to do that, and 100 percent compliance for the industry."

Sellers says it's important to remember no documented cases of mad cow disease in the U.S. have come from contaminated feed produced in the U.S. He says that's proof the efforts of feed companies and government regulators are working.

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