Beginning next month, the FDA will ban all Specified Risk Materials (SRM – suspect mad cow disease materials) from any food, including pet food. Concerned pet owners have waited for this ruling for many years. However, at a month before the ban goes into effect, related industries are already complaining.
A March 6th story in the Kansas City Star tells readers that Halfway Packing Company’s new slogan is ‘Our business is dead”. Halfway Packing Company collected dead cattle and horses for rendering. The company claims that because of the new federal regulation on cattle renderers banning all SRM to be removed prior to processing dead cattle, they have gone bankrupt. http://www.kansascity.com/438/story/1070419-p2.html
The Kansas City Star article states that Halfway Packing Company used to travel more than 1,000 miles a day picking up carcasses in 20 counties throughout Missouri. Richard Spinning, the company’s owner, used the meat from dead cows to make “canned pet food and sold the hides.”
Spinning states to remove the Specified Risk Materials from cattle carcasses (brain and spinal column of animals 30 months or older) he would have to charge a farmer over $100 to remove each animal; something farmers cannot afford per Spinning.
Farmers are complaining that disposing of dead animals is now a problem due to the new regulations. Many are stating that even more health hazards can occur from dead animals lying in fields or half-hearted burials.
Mad cow disease has crossed species into cats and mink worldwide. The deadly disease has also crossed species into deer and elk, known as Chronic Wasting Disease (CRW).
The livestock industry has had great influence over the FDA in the past. Despite complaints from health conscious organizations including the Humane Society, the complete ban of SRM in pet food has been stalled for years. Pet owners will have to keep their fingers crossed that the FDA doesn’t fold under pressure over the next month or so. SRM’s have no place in pet foods.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author, Buyer Beware
Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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