Date: 20 Dec 2000 12:03 PM EST
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Xinhua News Agency [edited]
Switzerland to Ban Meat-Based Animal Feed Beginning in January
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GENEVA: Switzerland will ban meat-based animal feed beginning 1 Jan 2001 in
a bid to rid the country of mad cow disease, or BSE, according to Swiss
Radio International.
Announcing the move on Wednesday, the federal government said that it would
implement the ban 3 months earlier than planned. It said strict new
measures would also be put in place to ensure compliance.
The ban prohibits the feeding of meat-based animal feed to livestock, and
stipulates that all meat and bone meal and animal fats must be
incinerated. Producers are also forbidden from exporting or importing such
feed. The ban extends to the feeding of fish meal to ruminants. One
exception is the feeding of meat and bone meal in liquid form to pigs.
A spokesman for the federal veterinary office, Hans Wyss, said that it was
not yet clear how much it would cost to incinerate the feed, but that
three-quarters of the cost would be borne by the government. He added that
the veterinary office would be "implementing a monitoring procedure with
the cantons over the coming months."
The ban follows a similar decision by the European Union in an effort to
restore public confidence in beef.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The ban of all meat-based feeds for livestock is a sure way to protect
public health, if enforced effectively. This should be of paramount
importance. A potential loophole created by a minor exception for pigs
seems questionable given previous experience in the UK. It is, however,
worrisome that the cost of incineration does not even appear to be of
interest to the government. Developing a system where we throw away meat
rather than recycling it is unfortunate at best.
While some view feeding of meat and bone meal as abnormal use of animal
protein, it can be argued that it is an efficient way of recycling such
protein. Finding a place to incinerate, expending the money and energy to
dispose of carcass wastes may be the only solution to provide a safe food
supply. However, it is unfortunate that we have not found a more
scientifically acceptable solution to protect public health; one that was
economically and ecologically sound. In the end prudence is the principle
which should guide public health, but we should at least calculate and know
the multiple costs involved in any measures adopted. - Mod.PC]
[Readers are reminded of the recent study demonstrating high amounts of
dioxin in fish meal to explain the Swi
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