Mad Cow Disease: An Evaluation of a Small Feed Testing Program FDA Implemented in 2003 With Recommendations for Making the Program a Better Oversight Tool

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1997, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of most proteins derived from mammals (referred to as prohibited material) in feed intended for cattle and other ruminants. The feed-ban rule is one of the primary actions taken by the federal government to protect U.S. cattle from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, which is believed to be spread through feed that contains malformed protein found in certain tissue--particularly brain and central nervous system tissue--of BSE-infected animals. Earlier this year, mad cow disease was found for the first time in a 12-year old animal born and raised in the United States. In January 2002, we reported on the effectiveness of federal actions to prevent the introduction and spread of BSE in the United States and identified a number of areas where improvements were needed to strengthen FDA's oversight of firms in the feed industry. In February 2005, we issued a follow-up report that examined the effectiveness of FDA's actions since the 2002 report to ensure industry compliance with the feed-ban rule and protect U.S. cattle from BSE. Our report concluded that while FDA has taken a number of positive steps, its processes still have room for improvement. Our February 2005 report also noted that FDA had begun a small, discrete feed testing program in August 2003. We reported that we would provide information on this new feed testing program, which FDA described as a unique effort, once FDA provided us with data on the feed tests. FDA later gave us the information we required to examine those feed testing activities. Accordingly, this report assesses FDA's small feed testing program and examines the extent to which this feed testing program helps FDA better assure industry compliance with the feed-ban rule. This report is the final component of our follow-up work on FDA's BSE prevention efforts.