FDA rendering plan lacks reality

Detached, ivory tower bureaucrats at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have crafted a proposed new regulation for the rendering of diseased beef carcasses that would probably result in not rendering them at all. The real question at that point, is how do you dispose of tens of thousands of whole beef carcasses each year?

Without consulting or listening to those in the industry who really understand the problem, FDA is proposing a regulation that requires that the brain and spinal cord be removed from each carcass before it can be rendered. This time consuming, onerous practice would most likely draw the response "why bother?" rather than improve consumer safety, as FDA is charged with doing.

With BSE in mind, allegedly residing in the brain and spinal cord of diseased cattle (an unproven hyothesis, by the way), FDA takes the simplistic approach of "by golly, we'll just cut it out." While it has been illegal for several years to use rendered cattle parts in cattle feed, FDA thinks it can be doubly sure by forcing renderers to cut out the brain and spinal cord.

Rather than solve a problem, and add to the margin of safety, FDA is merely creating another, bigger one.