Last updated on 5 December 2013
Cleveland Meat Company prosecution
The FSA has welcomed the successful prosecution of the Cleveland Meat
Company Ltd for breaches of food safety regulations. The company has been
ordered to pay more than £27,000 in fines and prosecution costs after being
found guilty on 12 charges. It entered a guilty plea on a 13th charge during the
course of the hearing.
The FSA brought the prosecution against the Cleveland Meat Company after
FSA staff identified breaches of the regulations, which are in place to prevent
potential consumer exposure to BSE. These breaches included the failure to
remove specified risk material (SRM) from a sheep carcass. SRM are the parts of
the animal most likely to carry infectivity.
Andrew Rhodes, Chief Operating Officer of the FSA, said: 'We are pleased
with the successful conclusion of this prosecution. These regulations are in
place to keep the public safe and the FSA’s job is to ensure they are enforced
properly across the country. Where companies are not meeting their
responsibilities we will take action.'
THAT AIN’T BAD, only $27,000 fine for exposing the consumers to a disease
that is 100% fatal, once clinical, and really, no way to trace the potential
iatrogenic TSE there from to humans. all iatrogenic CJD is, is sporadic CJD,
until the iatrogenic event that took place is identified, confirmed, and then
put in the academic domain, and that rarely ever happens $$$...TSS
why do we not want to do TSE transmission studies on chimpanzees $
*** 5. A positive result from a chimpanzee challenged severly would likely
create alarm in some circles even if the result could not be interpreted for
man. I have a view that all these agents could be transmitted provided a large
enough dose by appropriate routes was given and the animals kept long enough.
Until the mechanisms of the species barrier are more clearly understood it might
be best to retain that hypothesis.
snip...
R. BRADLEY
1: J Infect Dis 1980 Aug;142(2):205-8
Oral transmission of kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and scrapie to
nonhuman primates.
Gibbs CJ Jr, Amyx HL, Bacote A, Masters CL, Gajdusek DC.
Kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease of humans and scrapie disease of sheep
and goats were transmitted to squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) that were
exposed to the infectious agents only by their nonforced consumption of known
infectious tissues. The asymptomatic incubation period in the one monkey exposed
to the virus of kuru was 36 months; that in the two monkeys exposed to the virus
of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was 23 and 27 months, respectively; and that in the
two monkeys exposed to the virus of scrapie was 25 and 32 months, respectively.
Careful physical examination of the buccal cavities of all of the monkeys failed
to reveal signs or oral lesions. One additional monkey similarly exposed to kuru
has remained asymptomatic during the 39 months that it has been under
observation.
snip...
*** The successful transmission of kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and
scrapie by natural feeding to squirrel monkeys that we have reported provides
further grounds for concern that scrapie-infected meat may occasionally give
rise in humans to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
PMID: 6997404
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6997404&dopt=Abstract
Recently the question has again been brought up as to whether scrapie is
transmissible to man. This has followed reports that the disease has been
transmitted to primates. One particularly lurid speculation (Gajdusek 1977)
conjectures that the agents of scrapie, kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and
transmissible encephalopathy of mink are varieties of a single "virus". The U.S.
Department of Agriculture concluded that it could "no longer justify or permit
scrapie-blood line and scrapie-exposed sheep and goats to be processed for human
or animal food at slaughter or rendering plants" (ARC 84/77)" The problem is
emphasised by the finding that some strains of scrapie produce lesions identical
to the once which characterise the human dementias"
Whether true or not. the hypothesis that these agents might be
transmissible to man raises two considerations. First, the safety of laboratory
personnel requires prompt attention. Second, action such as the "scorched meat"
policy of USDA makes the solution of the acrapie problem urgent if the sheep
industry is not to suffer grievously.
snip...
76/10.12/4.6
Nature. 1972 Mar 10;236(5341):73-4.
Transmission of scrapie to the cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis).
Gibbs CJ Jr, Gajdusek DC.
Nature 236, 73 - 74 (10 March 1972); doi:10.1038/236073a0
Transmission of Scrapie to the Cynomolgus Monkey (Macaca fascicularis)
C. J. GIBBS jun. & D. C. GAJDUSEK
National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes
of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
SCRAPIE has been transmitted to the cynomolgus, or crab-eating, monkey
(Macaca fascicularis) with an incubation period of more than 5 yr from the time
of intracerebral inoculation of scrapie-infected mouse brain. The animal
developed a chronic central nervous system degeneration, with ataxia, tremor and
myoclonus with associated severe scrapie-like pathology of intensive astroglial
hypertrophy and proliferation, neuronal vacuolation and status spongiosus of
grey matter. The strain of scrapie virus used was the eighth passage in Swiss
mice (NIH) of a Compton strain of scrapie obtained as ninth intracerebral
passage of the agent in goat brain, from Dr R. L. Chandler (ARC, Compton,
Berkshire).
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
IN CONFIDENCE
SCRAPIE TRANSMISSION TO CHIMPANZEES
IN CONFIDENCE
Monday, December 02, 2013
A parliamentary inquiry has been launched today into the safety of blood,
tissue and organ screening following fears that vCJD – the human form of ‘mad
cow’ disease – may be being spread by medical procedures
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Food Standards Agency FSA 13/11/05 Open Board – 05 November 2013 BSE
Thursday, June 6, 2013
FSA MORE BSE MAD COW CONTROL BREACHES JUNE 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
UK FSA TSE BSE Board meeting agenda: 5 November 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
U-turn considered on European PAP animal feed ban 27 Mar 2013 News
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
FSA notified of BSE control breaches again and again 5 March 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
FSA notified of two breaches of BSE testing regulations 14 January 2013
Food Standards Agency FSA 13/01/01 Open Board – 22 January 2013
PROPOSED DECISION TO STOP BSE TESTING OF HEALTHY CATTLE SLAUGHTERED FOR
HUMAN CONSUMPTION (FSA 12/12/04)
snip...
12. The Deputy Chair declared an interest as an owner of a small farm, but
had no livestock. The Chair agreed that this would not improperly influence the
Deputy Chair’s contributions to the discussion.
13. The Chair welcomed Alison Gleadle, FSA Director of Food Safety, David
Carruthers, FSA Head of Meat Hygiene and TSE Policy Branch and Alick Simmons,
Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, Defra to the meeting. Alison Gleadle explained
that the critical controls to protect human health and prevent a recurrence of
BSE were those associated with the removal of Specified Risk Material (SRM) from
carcases and the control of feed stuffs. The current proposal to stop BSE
testing healthy slaughter cattle was based on European Food Safety Authority
(EFSA) advice and relates to surveillance rather than consumer protection. This
advice was consistent with previous advice from the Spongiform Encephalopathy
Advisory Committee (SEAC) that any change in BSE incidence is most likely to be
detected in at risk cattle. The letter from the Chief Medical Officer also
agreed with this assessment. No change was proposed to the SRM or feed ban
controls. Alison Gleadle assured the Board that if there were any unexpected
changes in BSE levels or deterioration in the epidemiological situation, the
Board would be informed.
14. Alick Simmons said Defra, as the Department responsible for overseeing
the surveillance system, was committed to managing the risk to public health on
a proportionate basis.
15. A Board member agreed the science supported the recommendation in the
paper but wanted assurance that sufficient testing would remain in place to spot
any re-emergence of BSE and wanted to know if it would take longer to detect an
increase. Alick Simmons said this would not be the beginning of the end of
monitoring. Internationally the UK has controlled risk status. It would take 11
years after the birth of the last BSE case before the UK achieved negligible
risk status and could
Food Standards Agency FSA 13/01/01 Open Board – 22 January 2013 4
reduce the controls. The current sensitive controls made predictions of
re-emergence easier and would remain in place. There could be a change in the
speed with which a re-emergence of the disease could be detected but as long as
the SRM and feed controls remained in place the effects of any delay would be
significantly mitigated.
16. The Chair of the Scottish Food Advisory Committee (SFAC) said the
Committee agreed with the recommendation but it was crucial that the two
controls (feed ban and SRM) remained in place. He asked if the FSA would have to
wait 17 years to detect a re-emergence or if the continued testing of at-risk
cattle would detect it before then. Alick Simmons said he would expect to see
any re-emergence in at-risk cattle. The results of the monitoring undertaken by
Defra were published. AHVLA run a model every year on the data so any change in
the level of BSE detected would come to the FSA’s attention as soon as that data
was reported.
17. The Chair of the Welsh Food Advisory Committee (WFAC) said the
Committee supported moving to the modified regime but it was a pre-requisite
that the controls (feed ban and SRM) remained in place and regular reports on
the effectiveness of the monitoring system were provided. These reports would be
expected to include information on the feed ban although the enforcement of it
is not part of the FSA’s remit.
18. On behalf of the Chair of the Northern Ireland Food Advisory Committee
(NIFAC), the Chair said NIFAC also sought reassurance on the integrity of the
surveillance of fallen and at-risk cattle.
19. The Deputy Chair said that while the FSA would be involved in any
changes to the TSE Road map, it would not be involved in any changes to animal
health surveillance and stressed that communication between Defra and the FSA on
this latter point would be crucial. The Chief Executive drew the Board’s
attention to the letter from Peter Unwin, Director General of Policy Delivery at
Defra, which states that the FSA’s advice will be sought on the food safety
implications of any proposals to change the BSE testing requirements.
20. The Deputy Chair said Bulgaria and Romania were high risk countries and
asked if traceability systems existed to cope with a two tier system. Alick
Simmons said that Romania and Bulgaria were not necessarily higher risk but as
their controls had been in place for a shorter period, they could not yet move
to a lower level of surveillance. He said there were statutory requirements on
surveillance of foreign stock, on diseases other than BSE and additional tests
for new and emerging diseases. Defra expected to start a consultation on 13
December 2012 to reconfigure the surveillance system for new and emerging
diseases in England and Wales. Alick Simmons invited Board members to attend the
AHVLA meetings as part of their consultation on changes to wider surveillance
systems for new and emerging diseases.
Action: Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer Food Standards Agency FSA 13/01/01
Open Board – 22 January 2013
5 21. A Board member suggested adding the following wording to the FSA
advice to Ministers: “while continuing to test all “risk cattle” aged over 48
months and subject to maintaining the ban on feeding animal protein to farmed
animals and the removal of specified risk material (SRM).”
22. The Chair said the risk to consumers of stopping BSE testing of all
healthy cattle aged over 72 months was negligible and the food supply chain
would continue to be protected with the ban on animal protein in animal feed and
the removal of specified risk material (SRM). With no case of BSE in healthy
snip...
11Dec12/O/22
Director of Food Safety
The Board should review a report on the results of the BSE monitoring
system and the effectiveness of enforcement of the feed and SRM controls six
months after current levels of BSE testing are reduced; a second report after
another six months; and then a report annually.
Nov 2013
This has been noted and placed on the future agenda plan.
Citizens Forums are the main mechanism for direct engagement with consumers
across the UK. Forums can either be a longer deliberative process where more
information is required and consumers need time to think more widely about the
issues. For other policy issues a shorter one-session discussion is used e.g.
changes to BSE testing.
Locations are chosen to ensure ethnic diversity and consumers with
non-English cultures are included. This involves selecting locations with rich
ethnic diversity e.g. Birmingham, Bradford, Leicester and London. On some policy
issues the closeness to agriculture or farming has made a difference to how
consumers view particular challenges. Recent examples of this include Processed
Animal Protein (PAP), EU Proposals on BSE Regulation and Consumer Attitudes to
Raw Drinking Milk. Therefore ensuring consumers from areas that are more rurally
located and not just cities or large towns has ensured the engagement does not
become one dimensional.
breaches (UK)
In the period 1 April 2012 to 30 September 2012, 1,277,136 bovines were
slaughtered for human consumption, with 5 breaches of BSE controls reported in
the period. During Quarter 2 (July – September 2012) there were 4 breaches and
643,732 bovines were slaughtered for human consumption. None of these breaches
were for bovines included in FSA checks. All specified risk material would have
been removed from the animals at the time of processing (specified risk material
is the parts of an animal likely to contain any infectivity in the unlikely
event that the animal should have BSE).
> This has been noted and placed on the future agenda plan.
?
TSS
TO STOP TESTING HEALTHY CATTLE FOR BSE TSE PRION DISEASE, all strains, it
just seems so counter productive to me, and further risk spreading the BSE TSE
prion agent even further, thus risking more humans...tss
“This research raises the possibility, which has been mentioned before,
that apparently healthy cattle could harbour, but never show signs of, BSE.”
SUB CLINICAL PRION INFECTION
MRC-43-00 Issued: Monday, 28 August 2000
NEW EVIDENCE OF SUB-CLINICAL PRION INFECTION: IMPORTANT RESEARCH FINDINGS
RELEVANT TO CJD AND BSE
A team of researchers led by Professor John Collinge at the Medical
Research Council Prion Unit1 report today in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, on new evidence for the existence of a ?sub-clinical? form
of BSE in mice which was unknown until now.
"This is a timely and unexpected result, increasing what we know about
prion disease. These new findings have important implications for those
researching prion disease, those responsible for preventing infected material
getting into the food chain and for those considering how best to safeguard
health and reduce the risk that theoretically, prion disease could be contracted
through medical and surgical procedures."
ISSUED FRIDAY 25 AUGUST UNDER EMBARGO. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EMBARGO IS SET
BY THE JOURNAL
see full text ;
Neurobiology of Disease
Subclinical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Infection in Transgenic Mice
Expressing Porcine Prion Protein
Friday, December 21, 2012
Four BSE cases with an L-BSE molecular profile in cattle from Great Britain
Veterinary Record doi:10.1136/vr.101158 Paper
Monday, October 14, 2013
Researchers estimate one in 2,000 people in the UK carry variant CJD
proteins
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
VARIANT CJD PRESENTS DIFFERENTLY IN OLDER PATIENTS
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
*** WHY THE UKBSEnvCJD ONLY THEORY IS SO POPULAR IN IT'S FALLACY,
£41,078,281 in compensation REVISED
Thursday, October 10, 2013
CJD REPORT 1994 increased risk for consumption of veal and venison and lamb
Friday, August 16, 2013
*** Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) biannual update August 2013 U.K. and
Contaminated blood products induce a highly atypical prion disease devoid of
PrPres in primates
WHAT about the sporadic CJD TSE proteins ?
WE now know that some cases of sporadic CJD are linked to atypical BSE and
atypical Scrapie, so why are not MORE concerned about the sporadic CJD, and all
it’s sub-types $$$
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease CJD cases rising North America updated report
August 2013
*** Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease CJD cases rising North America with Canada
seeing an extreme increase of 48% between 2008 and 2010 ***
Sunday, October 13, 2013
CJD TSE Prion Disease Cases in Texas by Year, 2003-2012
Monday, September 02, 2013
Lessons from the response to the threat of transfusion-transmitted vCJD in
Ireland
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Recommendation of the Swiss Expert Committee for Biosafety on the
classification of activities using prion genes and prion protein January 2013
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Importation of Bovines and Bovine
Products; Final Rule Federal Register / Vol. 78 , No. 233 / Wednesday, December
4, 2013
TO ALL IMPORTING COUNTRIES THAT IMPORTS FROM THE USA, BE WARNED, NEW MAD
COW BSE REGULATIONS USDA, AND OIE, not worth the paper the regulations were
wrote on, kind of like the mad cow feed ban of August 1997, nothing but ink on
paper $$$
full text ;
Thursday, December 05, 2013
National Scrapie Eradication Program October 2013 Monthly Report Fiscal
Year 2014 TSE PRION REPORT
TSS
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