January 17, 2001
		Feedmakers Fail FDA Regulations A report released by the FDA on January 11 confirmed that many companies involved in manufacturing animal feed are not complying with federal regulations created to prevent the spread of mad cow disease in the United States Federal regulations formally adopted in August, 1997 stated that feed manufacturers and companies that render animals into other products must not feed mammals to ruminants, which can carry mad cow disease. Furthermore, all products that contain rendered cows or sheep must contain a label that warns against feeding to ruminants. In addition, manufacturers must have a system in place that prevents ruminant products from being mixed with other rendered material, like chicken, fish or pork. Finally, all companies must keep thorough records of where their products originated and where they were sold. More than three years after regulations were adopted, inspections revealed that compliance is not what the FDA had hoped to find. Among 180 companies that render cows and sheep, 16 percent were not properly labeling their products, and did not have a system to prevent commingling. Among 347 large feed mills that process ruminant material, 20 percent were not using labels with the required warning, and 9 percent did not have a system to prevent commingling. Of 1,593 small feed producers, 40 percent were not using approved labels and 25 percent had no system in place to prevent commingling. Dr. Stephan Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the FDA said that although this doesn't mean that the American food supply is unsafe, a better job must be done.