New Feed Rule Coming

FDA to Expand Restrictions on Livestock Feed
By BILL TOMSON
April 24, 2008; Page C6

The Food and Drug Administration will unveil this week a federal rule that will place new restrictions on what U.S. livestock can be fed.

The primary objective is to reduce the risk of transmitting bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad-cow disease, among cattle, but it is also expected to help persuade foreign countries to remove import restrictions on U.S. beef, according to a pre-publishing copy of the document.

South Korea last week agreed to lift restrictions on U.S. beef and, according to one U.S. government official, the country did so on the condition that the U.S. strengthen its livestock feed rules. Read More

The goal of agriculture should always be to continue improving the safety of the world’s safest food supply. The new rule should act as an additional firewall against the transmission of BSE.