Japan blames Dutch for 1995-6 Mad Cow Outbreaks
Phyllis Entis isn't buying the single milk substitute theory as the reason why 33 cows in Japan came down with bovine spongiform encephalopathy ten years ago.
The Japanese Agricultural Ministry released an investigative report Friday (12/14/07) that blamed Dutch-produced animal fat powder that was used as a milk substitute for the outbreaks of Mad Cow Disease in Hokkaido and Kanto.
Entis, a food safety microbiologist, who writes for eFoodAlertcom says the theory that Japanese cows got Mad Cow Disease from Dutch animal fat is an old one. CNN offered it up in 2001.
"There are other possible explantions for the Japanese mad cow outbreak, " she wrote. "The milk substitute was actually processed in Japan, using animal fat from the Netherlands as one ingredient. The powder might have been contaminated by meat and bone meal--a high risk material for mad cow transmission ---during mixing. Another source might have been dried cattle blood, which is sometimes used as an ingredient in milk substitute for feeding cattle"
