AMI Claims BSE Risk Lower Than Ever

April 25, 2001

American Meat Institute Foundation President James H. Hodges says prevention measures put in place in the United States have lowered significantly the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) showing up in U.S. livestock. "Our risks today of BSE are lower than they've ever been since we understood the threat the disease presented to us," Hodges said.

He made the remarks in a speech to the semi-annual meeting of the North American Agricultural Journalists in Washington. "It is perplexing to me to see the focus on all the things we've done wrong rather than all the things we've done right to prevent BSE." Hodges added.

A "triple firewall" of import controls, surveillance and animal feed controls work together to insulate U.S. livestock from this disease, Hodges said.