Ninety-nine percent of rendering and feed industry firms
are in full compliance with government guidelines regarding
feed production and the feeding of mammalian protein to
ruminants, according to an update issued by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration Tuesday.
The rule, known as the "ruminant feed ban," became effective
on August 4, 1997, and is considered one of the most important
ways of fighting bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the
United States.
As of July 17, 2004, the FDA had received more than 31,000
inspection reports from around the country, with a majority
of the inspections being conducted by state officials under
contract to FDA.
Inspections are classified based on objectionable conditions
documented and fall into three categories: Official Action
Indicated (OAI), Volunteer Action Indicated (VAI) and No
Action Indicated (NAI).
There are a total of 2,901 companies that are handling materials
prohibited from use in ruminant feed, and the most recent
inspections show that 17 were classified as OAI and 86 were
VAIs, according to the FDA.
Of the 161 renderers handling prohibited materials, the
most recent inspections show that none were classified as
OAI while four were classified as VAI.
To view the FDA inspections in closer detail, Click
Here.
|
