WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published a question and answer document about the agency’s amendments to regulations that prohibit the use of certain cattle origin materials in the food or feed of animals.

 

According to thecattlesite.com, this document is in response to the numerous questions the agency has received about implementation of the rule, which goes into effect April 27, 2009.

Under the new rule, banned materials include the following: the entire carcass of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)-positive cattle; the brains and spinal cords from cattle 30 months of age and older; the entire carcass of cattle not inspected and passed for human consumption that are 30 months of age or older from which brains and spinal cords were not removed; tallow that is derived from BSE-positive cattle; tallow that is derived from other materials prohibited by this rule that contains more than 0.15 percent insoluble impurities; and mechanically separated beef that is derived from the materials prohibited by this rule.

Questions addressed in the new document include specifics of the regulation, exclusions, implementation, disposal of prohibited materials, by-products, state-inspected facilities, determining age of cattle, rendering requirements, transportation, import and export of animal proteins, compliance, marking and recall requirements.

To view this question and answer document, go to http://www.fda.gov/cvm/bse_QA.htm.