USAHA News
United States Animal Health Association
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For immediate release:

BSE SURVEILLANCE PLAN TO TEST 268,000 SAMPLES YEARLY 

        GREENSBORO, N.C., Oct. 26, 2004 -- Enhanced surveillance for bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy (BSE) is proceeding at a pace to collect 268,000 samples over 
a 12-month period.

	Members of the USAHA Committee on Food Safety at their meeting here this week 
received this information in a report by Dr. Ron DeHaven, administrator of USDA’s Animal 
and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS).  Dr. DeHaven explained that the testing is part 
of an enhanced surveillance program aimed at detecting BSE if it is present in the United 
States.  Testing is not done as a food safety measure.  Some $70 million has been made 
available for the enhanced surveillance.  

        Dr. DeHaven reviewed the firewalls that were in place prior to discovery of 
BSE in a single cow in Washington in December 2003.  He also reviewed the U.S. response 
that followed, including the banning of non-ambulatory cattle from slaughter and the 
removal of specified risk material from human food.
        
        Domestic confidence in beef has remained high since the BSE find, but 
international trade reflects a net loss of $3.3 billion.  The United States recently 
concluded negotiations with Japan that should open trade following relevant rule making.  
Japan was formerly the biggest export market for U.S. beef.  

	The committee also heard a report on a comprehensive Canadian plan for food 
safety status certification at the farm level of essentially all food commodities.  
The program represents an unprecedented collaboration of government and industry in 
assuring the safety of all food commodities.  Canadian producers, including those 
involved with livestock, poultry, horticulture and aquaculture, are seeking this 
type of program because of their concerns for food safety.

	Another report outlined the various voluntary certification programs available 
in the United States from USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).  
These include the Scrapie Flock Certification Program, the Voluntary Bovine Johne’s 
Disease Control Program, the National Poultry Improvement Plan, and the National 
Trichinae Certification Program.  These programs are producer driven to establish a 
level of confidence in the health and food safety status of the livestock and poultry 
enrolled in these programs. 

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