February 10, 2006

Japan's BSE-infected cow was fed banned bone meal

A cow that was Japan's 22nd confirmed case of mad cow disease, or BSE, had been fed meat-and-bone meal, a Japanese official said.

The use of meat-and-bone meal in Japan has been banned since 2001 on suspicions that it causes mad cow disease. This is the first time the feed's use has been linked to a mad cow-infected animal in Japan.

The 64-month-old cow, which died in January in Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, was fed the meal until September 2001, while it was less than a year old. A ban was imposed on meat-and-bone meal a month later. The meal was found in a mixed ration made from meat and bones from chickens, pigs and cows.