What rules govern Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)?
To eliminate the risk of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, from Canada, the federal government introduced new animal health safeguards and regulations on July 12, 2007. Anyone slaughtering cattle and processing beef must handle, transport, and dispose of tissues capable of transmitting BSE, known as specified risk material (SRM), according to federal regulations. What tissues are considered risky? Tissues the Canadian Food Inspection Agency defines as specified risk material (SRM) are: • the skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia (nerves attached to the brain), eyes, tonsils, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia (nerves attached to the spinal cord) of cattle aged 30 months or older; and • the distal ileum (portion of the small intestine) of cattle of all ages. How must SRM and other wastes be handled and disposed of? All SRM must be handled according to the guidelines laid out by the CFIA. SRM and carcasses containing SRM may only be transported from an abattoir or p
