For Immediate Release
Dec. 26, 2003

Contact:
Larry Bohlen, 202-270-1547
Brent Blackwelder, 202-222-0727

Mad Cow Rules May Have Been Violated by Other Washington State Firms;
FDA Database from March 2002 Shows More Problem Companies from 1998 to 2002

A Food and Drug Administration database dated March 11, 2002 shows more than a dozen Washington State firms that were potential violators of mad cow prevention rules over the last several years. The database does not appear to be on the FDA website today as the agency has shifted to a new format which limits information about past violations. Friends of the Earth obtained a copy of the database by downloading it in September 2003.

Federal regulations require feed operations that handle materials prohibited in cattle feed to have a system to prevent the materials from mixing with cattle feed, to provide warning labels so ranchers can avoid prohibited materials, and to keep accurate records. According to a Government Accounting Office report in January 2002, the FDA was lax in enforcing these regulations for years since they went into force in 1997. The GAO also found that the database listing inspections completed by the FDA was “severely flawed.”

Violations that date back several years are significant since the incubation time of mad cow disease is typically several years.

“The FDA needs to carefully look at every feed company that broke the law to see if their products caused mad cow disease to spread,” said Larry Bohlen, Director of Health and Environment Programs at Friends of the Earth. “The USDA should follow Japan’s lead and require testing of every cow for the disease.”

Friends of the Earth urges that special attention in the Washington State mad cow investigation should be paid to the following three areas:

I. Firms that could have been commingling prohibited material

At least twelve Washington State firms that at some time were known by the FDA to 1) handle prohibited materials, 2) to also handle non-prohibited materials creating the opportunity for commingling, and 3) have no FDA listing as to whether they maintained a system to avoid commingling. X-CEL Feeds, which was the subject of court action for failure to comply with FDA regulations, fell in this category.

According to the FDA’s monitoring database dated March 2002, these companies included:

CENTRAL LIVESTOCK SUPPLY
CONNELL GRAIN GROWERS
DEER PARK FEED & SEED
HANSEN & PETERSON, INC.
IBP INC.
M & E SEED GRAIN CO.
NORTHWEST SEED AND PET, INC.
PURINA MILLS, INC.
RIETDYK'S MILLING CO.
WESTERN FEED SUPPLEMENTS, INC.
WILCOX FAMILY FARMS, INC.
X-CEL FEEDS, INC.

II. Firms that did not provide warning labels

Special attention should be paid to the eight firms that, according to the FDA, handled prohibited material and did not provide warning labels. These include:

NATIONAL FOOD CORPORATION
PRINCE'S INC.
BAKER COMMODITIES, INC.
NORTHWEST SEED AND PET, INC.
CONNELL GRAIN GROWERS
WESTERN FEED SUPPLEMENTS INC
DEER PARK FEED & SEED
RIETDYK'S MILLING CO.

Prince’s Inc. is a pet food salvager. Pet food past its expiration date is sometimes purchased by ranchers and used as lower cost cattle feed. Since pet food is often made with materials prohibited as cattle feed, the absence of warning labels puts cattle at risk of acquiring mad cow disease.

III. Firms that kept poor records

Special attention should also be paid to the two firms that handled prohibited material and failed to keep adequate records. These firms were:

NATIONAL FOOD CORPORATION
PRINCE'S INC.

- end -