FDA STATEMENT
For Immediate Release: Jan. 28, 2014 Media Inquiries: Siobhan DeLancey,
202-510-4177, siobhan.delancey@fda.hhs.gov Consumer Inquiries:
888-INFO-FDA
FDA Statement on Western Sugar Cooperative voluntary recall of beet pulp
and tailings
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in close coordination with the
Wyoming Department of Agriculture (WDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), has been working to address a tragic accident that occurred at the
Western Sugar Cooperative’s Lovell, Wyo., manufacturing facility on Jan. 4,
2014.
The FDA has confirmed that no sugar or molasses manufactured by Western
Sugar Cooperative has been distributed for human consumption since the accident
occurred. The company has agreed to destroy all products manufactured for human
consumption during this time.
During the period of Jan. 4 to Jan. 16, the company also produced beet
by-products (beet pulp, beet pellets and tailings) for animal consumption. Some
of the beet pulp and tailings were distributed to local cattle operations as
livestock feed and may have been fed to cattle. None of the beet pellets were
distributed. No feed products were distributed after Jan. 11.
With the FDA’s oversight, Western Sugar Cooperative has notified all of its
customers that received these beet pulp and tailings and is in the process of
retrieving the recalled products. The FDA is closely monitoring the
recall.
The FDA has concluded that, while the animal feed product is adulterated
there are no known human or animal health risks.
The FDA and WDA also requested that Western Sugar Cooperative develop and
implement a sanitation plan for their manufacturing facility, which it has
completed. FDA investigators remained on-site to oversee the sanitation
operation and closed out their inspection on Jan. 24. Western Sugar Cooperative
resumed processing of sugar beets that evening.
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security
of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human
use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and
security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products
that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.
USDA Buys Cattle, Fears They Ate Human Remains
Northern Ag Network posted on January 29, 2014 09:33 :: 515 Views
by Greg D. Horstmeier, DTN Editor-in-Chief
OMAHA (DTN) -- Cattle that have eaten feed that may have been contaminated
with human matter following an industrial accident will be purchased by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture and destroyed, according to a press release from the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration which included a statement from USDA. The
issue affects at least 5,000 feedlot cattle in Wyoming and Montana.
Cattle in these areas may have been fed beet pulp and other sugar beet
by-products that may have been contaminated with human matter following an
industrial accident at the Western Sugar Cooperative in Lovell, Wyo.
Livestock officials in Wyoming and Montana have reportedly identified the
affected livestock and notified feedlots.
Western Sugar has notified all of its customers that received these beet
pulp and tailings and is in the process of retrieving the recalled products. The
FDA is closely monitoring the recall, according to the agency press
release.
While FDA has concluded that the animal feed product is adulterated, it
said there are no known human or animal health risks.
Despite that ruling, USDA has volunteered to purchase "any animals that
consumed the recalled livestock feed, and that are imminently scheduled for
slaughter," USDA said in the press release. "This additional step is being taken
to help ensure consumer confidence. USDA is working closely with FDA, as well as
the States of Wyoming and Montana. These states will work with producers to
identify and certify the animals that are eligible for purchase."
Marty Zaluski, Montana state veterinarian, said that approximately 5,000
calves, mostly in one feed yard, were fed contaminated beet pulp in his state.
"We believe we have all the animals identified and are working to connect the
feedlot with USDA," Zaluski said.
Lovell is in northwestern Wyoming near the Montana state line.
While his office is confident all the animals have been found, Zaluski said
any producer with questions about the contaminated feed and their livestock can
contact the Montana Board of Livestock at 406-444-7323.
Wyoming officials had not yet responded to a DTN request for cattle numbers
and related information in that state.
News reports on Jan. 4 said a 28-year-old woman was killed at Western Sugar
after apparently falling into a lift station, the machinery used to move sugar
beets from the truck dumping area into the processing factory. The factory was
immediately closed while the woman's body was recovered, according to local news
reports.
The factory resumed processing Jan. 5, but was closed Jan. 10 following the
initiation of an inspection by FDA.
"Our inspectors learned of the situation on Jan. 9," an FDA spokesperson
told DTN in a phone interview. The plant was closed on the 10th and stopped
taking in raw product the next day, the spokesperson said. FDA officials then
allowed the plant to process beets in order to empty out the processing system.
That processing ended on Jan. 16. None of the product refined during that time
has been allowed into the market, she said.
"We would typically want such a facility to notify us immediately following
such an incident," the FDA spokesperson said. She did not know why FDA officials
weren't notified until five days after the accident.
Western has agreed to destroy all products manufactured for human
consumption since the accident. The plant was cleared by FDA and resumed
commercial sugar processing the evening of Jan. 24.
Some beet pulp and tailings produced after Jan. 4 were distributed to local
cattle operations as livestock feed and may have been fed to cattle. No feed
products were distributed after Jan. 11, according to FDA reports.
Northern Ag Network Note: For details on how the on-site death at Western
Sugar was handled, please read "Western Sugar Ceases Operations in
Lovell."
© Copyright 2014 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.
Posted with DTN Permission by Haylie Shipp
Jan 14, 2014 4:09 PM by Simone DeAlba - Q2 News
Western Sugar ceases operations in Lovell, Wyoming
LOVELL, WYO. - The Western Sugar Cooperative and the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration have confirmed that they have shut down operations at the factory
in Lovell, Wyoming.
A sanitation plan was implemented by the company at the request of U.S.
Food and Drug Administration following the death of an employee at the plant on
Jan. 4.
In a press release, Western Sugar stated that they have isolated sugar
products produced at the factory since Jan. 4. The company said they are
committed to meeting all required regulations and standards for food quality and
will continue to work with regulators.
Also recalled are agricultural bi-products from the factory that were
intended for livestock.
The plant is expected to begin operating again within the next two weeks.
The company continues to investigate the incident that caused the death of a
28-year-old female employee.
Anfesa Galaktionoff lived in the area and was an employee of the factory.
She was died after falling into a piece of industrial equipment.
The Lovell Police Department and Big Horn County Sheriff's Office were
dispatched to the Western Sugar Cooperative factory at about 9 p.m. on Jan. 4
after a report of a suspicious incident.
Multiple agencies worked throughout the night extricating the victim from
the equipment - a lift station where water is filtered and re-circulated in the
closed system 200 yards north of the factory.
Sheriff Kenneth Blackburn said Tuesday the investigation is ongoing. He
previously said foul play or criminal actions had been ruled out and the death
appeared accidental.
our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the 28 year old
that died in this terrible accident.
WHILE I think the USDA et al made the right call in buying those cattle.
what the FDA said ‘’While FDA has concluded that the animal feed product is
adulterated, it said there are no known human or animal health risks.’’
THIS is not true in my opinion, i.e. KURU
studies, oral transmission of KURU, and the hypothesis that kuru originated
from chance consumption of an individual with sporadic CJD. there is still a chance. just saying. ...
kind regards,
terry
*** These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that kuru originated
from chance consumption of an individual with sporadic CJD. ***
Kuru prions and sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease prions have equivalent
transmission properties in transgenic and wild-type mice
Jonathan D. F. Wadsworth, Susan Joiner, Jacqueline M. Linehan, Melanie
Desbruslais, Katie Fox, Sharon Cooper, Sabrina Cronier, Emmanuel A. Asante,
Simon Mead, Sebastian Brandner, Andrew F. Hill *, and John Collinge † Author
Affiliations
Medical Research Council Prion Unit and Department of Neurodegenerative
Disease, University College London Institute of Neurology, National Hospital for
Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom
Communicated by Charles Weissmann, The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, FL,
January 10, 2008 (received for review October 10, 2007)
Abstract Kuru provides our principal experience of an epidemic human prion
disease and primarily affected the Fore linguistic group of the Eastern
Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Kuru was transmitted by the practice of consuming
dead relatives as a mark of respect and mourning (transumption). To date,
detailed information of the prion strain type propagated in kuru has been
lacking. Here, we directly compare the transmission properties of kuru prions
with sporadic, iatrogenic, and variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) prions in
Prnp-null transgenic mice expressing human prion protein and in wild-type mice.
Molecular and neuropathological data from these transmissions show that kuru
prions are distinct from variant CJD and have transmission properties equivalent
to those of classical (sporadic) CJD prions.
*** These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that kuru originated
from chance consumption of an individual with sporadic CJD.
1: J Infect Dis 1980 Aug;142(2):205-8
Oral transmission of kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and scrapie to
nonhuman primates.
Gibbs CJ Jr, Amyx HL, Bacote A, Masters CL, Gajdusek DC.
Kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease of humans and scrapie disease of sheep
and goats were transmitted to squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) that were
exposed to the infectious agents only by their nonforced consumption of known
infectious tissues. The asymptomatic incubation period in the one monkey exposed
to the virus of kuru was 36 months; that in the two monkeys exposed to the virus
of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was 23 and 27 months, respectively; and that in the
two monkeys exposed to the virus of scrapie was 25 and 32 months, respectively.
Careful physical examination of the buccal cavities of all of the monkeys failed
to reveal signs or oral lesions. One additional monkey similarly exposed to kuru
has remained asymptomatic during the 39 months that it has been under
observation.
snip...
The successful transmission of kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and scrapie
by natural feeding to squirrel monkeys that we have reported provides further
grounds for concern that scrapie-infected meat may occasionally give rise in
humans to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
PMID: 6997404
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6997404&dopt=Abstract
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
A Novel Protective Prion Protein Variant that Colocalizes with Kuru
Exposure
Sunday, December 15, 2013
*** FDA PART 589 -- SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM USE IN ANIMAL FOOD OR FEED
VIOLATIONS OFFICIAL ACTION INDICATED OAI UPDATE DECEMBER 2013 UPDATE
Saturday, December 21, 2013
**** Complementary studies detecting classical bovine spongiform
encephalopathy infectivity in jejunum, ileum and ileocaecal junction in
incubating cattle ****
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
*** Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Importation of Bovines and Bovine
Products; Final Rule Federal Register / Vol. 78 , No. 233 /
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Saturday, November 2, 2013
*** APHIS Finalizes Bovine Import Regulations in Line with International
Animal Health Standards while enhancing the spread of BSE TSE prion mad cow type
disease around the Globe
Sunday, January 19, 2014
National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center Cases Examined1 as of
January 8, 2014
kind regards, terry
