107th Congress

Mad Cow Disease: Are Our Precautions Adequate? -- Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce, and Tourism -- Senate Commerce Hearing -- April 4, 2001

Members Present

Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-IL), Chairman; Sam Brownback (R-KS); Conrad Burns (R-MT); Byron Dorgan (D-ND); John Ensign (R-NV); and GORDon H. Smith (R-OR).

Witnesses

Senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) testified, followed by two panels.

Panel I: Dr. Richard Johnson, Special Advisor, NINDS; Dr. Alfonso Torres, Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Dr. Stephen Sundlof, Director, Center for Veterinary Medicine, FDA; Dr. Will Hueston, Professor and Associate Dean, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.

Panel II: Chuck Schroeder, CEO, National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA); James Hodges, President, American Meat Institute Foundation; Richard Sellers, Vice President, Feed Control and Nutrition, American Feed Industry Association; Caroline Smith DeWaal, Director, Food Safety Program, Center for Science in the Public Interest; Dr. Peter Lurie, Deputy Director, Health Research Group, Public Citizen.

Summary: Chairman Fitzgerald opened the hearing with a brief statement in which he called attention to current concerns about mad cow disease, expressed relief that so far the U.S. is free of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease), and cautioned against complacency. He welcomed Senators Campbell and Durbin, whose testimony preceded the panels and the opening remarks of other committee members.

Senator Campbell stated that the committee should not whip up public fears, noting that "the media are doing that." His concerns included the possible spread of BSE, foot and mouth disease, and "livestock related" chronic wasting disease in deer and elk. He called for passage of legislation he has introduced to create a task force to address these issues and noted that in addition to federal efforts, many states have banned importation of foreign animals and some food chains are requiring evidence of the source of meat served. Senator Dorgan commented that sponsors of this legislation (S. 534) have sent a letter to President Bush. (Subsequently Senator Campbell introduced a similar bill, S. 700, which passed the Senate under unanimous consent on April 5, 2001.)

Senator Durbin, Ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, noted that the globalization of commerce has important implications for the food supply. He said the federal response has not always been optimal, citing GAO's findings of noncompliance with FDA regulations. He plans to introduce the "National Food Security and Safety Act," intended to:

update information requirements for foreign foods and feeds, including whether they come from BSE countries ban ruminant nerve tissue from the animal and human food chains, ban the use of any animal with neurological disease, and ban ruminant-to-ruminant feeding set up a task force for surveillance strengthen safety requirements for non-food items; exemptions would be granted only if supported by scientific evidence. Senator Durbin stated that we have a safe food supply but there are too many agencies and laws; he hopes to consolidate them through new legislation.

Panel I: Dr. Johnson described the clinical symptoms of BSE and other TSEs (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, encompassing all forms of the diseases), summarized what is known about the prions believed to cause them, and discussed the British outbreak of BSE and subsequent human cases of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) that have been linked with BSE in Britain and some other European countries. He noted that in order to prevent the occurrence and propagation of BSE in the U.S., much more needs to be known about it in order to develop better methods of detection and diagnosis. He cited the long record of NIH investment and scientific accomplishment in this area of research.

Dr. Torres described steps the USDA has taken-often in concert with other federal agencies-to prevent the introduction of BSE into this country. Measures have included bans on imported ruminants, meat, and most recently, rendered products from countries in which BSE has been present. He also discussed USDA surveillance programs involving the testing of cattle believed to suffer from neurological diseases and monitoring of known imported ruminants still in the U.S. He noted that other TSEs do exist here; they include scrapie, a common disease of sheep with no known human effects, and chronic wasting disease in deer an elk, an emerging concern of cattle farmers.

Dr. Sundhof described FDA's efforts to prevent the introduction of BSE. They focus on the cattle feeding chain (including a prohibition on most animal protein in feed intended for ruminants); controls on importation of animals, animal products, and feed; regulation of medical products; and protection of the blood supply. He described DHHS advisory and coordinating mechanisms now in place, focusing on surveillance, protection, research, and oversight.

Dr. Hueston challenged recent media reports suggesting the U.S. faces the same problems with BSE as Europe. However, he said we face a conundrum: the risk of exposure is low, but the impact would be large. Citing ignorance, stupidity, and lack of resources as the greatest threats to prevention of BSE and response if it occurs, he called for reasonable actions based on what is known. For example, surveillance should focus on animals at risk rather than routine testing of slaughtered animals, since the latter would be too young to detect the disease. He called for removal of brain and spinal cORD from the rendering process and the human food supply and urged additional research and education.

Senator Fitzgerald's questions included issues related to traveling to Britain and eating beef. Dr. Torres explained that BSE is not highly contagious like foot and mouth disease. Dr. Johnson added that the risk of transmission of BSE to humans has declined because of measures already taken in Britain and noted that the average consumer should be much more concerned about other food-borne illnesses that cause 5,000 deaths per year in this country. Mr. Fitzgerald also asked about the mechanisms of prion diseases, the extent to which contaminated CNS might be entering the country, health food supplements, and CNS tissue in meat products resulting from "advanced meat recovery" (AMR.) In general the USDA and FDA representatives emphasized the importance of avoiding the introduction of BSE from foreign sources. There was no discussion of whether existing safeguards would be adequate in the event of a spontaneous occurrence of BSE, which is theoretically possible.

Senator Dorgan asked about products imported from Canada and Mexico and was assured that similar protections are in place in those countries. He asked if more research was needed, and Dr. Torres indicated the USDA research budget is "very meager."

Senator Ensign-himself a veterinarian-asked questions about the mode of transmission of TSEs. Dr. Hueston replied that animal-to-animal transmission is only a concern in the feeding process. Ensign was also curious about our failure to eradicate scrapie, which Hueston attributed to difficulties in diagnosis and the lack of a reliable in vivo test. In response to a question about importation of zoo animals, Dr. Hueston replied the only known cases have involved animals exposed to contaminated beef or feed.

Senator Smith asked about European travel (having missed the earlier discussion) and was assured the risk is slight. He noted that many members of the public do not understand the distinction between BSE and foot and mouth disease.

Panel II: Industry representatives stressed the success of measures taken to date to limit the importation and spread of BSE. They called for "science based" assessments of risks and benefits. Consumer representatives also praised the efforts of government and industry, but were much more concerned about the adequacy of the "firewall" (a simile appearing frequently in testimony from various sources) both in terms of gaps in regulatory coverage and failure to enforce all safeguards now in place. In response to questions about specific risks, such as the present practice of allowing plate wastes into the rendering chain, industry representatives emphasized the absence of BSE in the food chain now, while the consumer advocates argued for additional precautions based on what is known about transmission from CNS tissue and the occurrence of sporadic TSEs in animals and humans.

Prepared by Mary Miers, NINDS