The Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted the temporary ban on meat and bone meal imports from the United States following official confirmation from global health authorities on the controlled-risk status of the mad cow disease in that country.

DA Secretary Arthur Yap said in a memorandum that the World Animal Health Organization or the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) has adopted a resolution recognizing the United States of America (USA) as “Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) controlled risk” based on the provisions of the OIE’s Terrestrial Code.

Controlled risk means there has been no case of BSE or, if there has been a case, every case of BSE has been demonstrated to have been imported and has been completely destroyed.

BSE is also known as the mad cow disease.

He further noted that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) finalized additional restrictions to its Feed Rule (USFDA-HHS 2008) with the implementation of the “cattle material prohibited from animal feed” (CMPAF) to decrease the risk of BSE in the US.

The US rendering industry is regulated closely by state and federal agencies, which routinely inspect rendering facilities for compliance with applicable regulations and finished product safety tolerances, Yap said in his directive.

Yap said the DA has also confirmed that “meat and bone meal (MBM) and other animal protein products are regulated and verified by the USFDA for compliance with BSE-related regulations and chemical residue tolerances.”

Moreover, the US rendering industry uses internal controls to maintain biosecurity and ensures that its finished products are safe and in compliance with all state and federal regulations and tolerances.

The US currently exports MBM to Indonesia, Canada, Europe, South Africa, Malaysia, China, Mexico, Ecuador, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam .