Indiana company helps mad cow problem

An Indiana company has made great strides in helping deal with America's mad cow disease problem. \nDavid Lovenheim, Group Chief Executive for Waste Reduction by Waste Reduction, Inc., is part of a team that developed a new method of waste disposal believed to completely break down any diseased proteins in infected carcasses. \nThe discovery of a diseased cow in the state of Washington last month has prompted much change, both in the United States government, as well as in individual homes and companies. \nCows testing positive for mad cow disease or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) are destroyed, and their remains are incinerated. Recent studies have indicated the disease-causing protein in the cows can survive incineration, and therefore continues the spread of the disease. But Lovenheim believes Waste Reduction's machine can be a part of preventing the spread of mad cow disease.\n"If this process is used properly, and soon enough, and if we don't landfill animals that have to be sacrificed and create the risk that BSE will be carried in the buried land, then I think this will absolutely succeed in cutting the risk for this disease, remarkably," Lovenheim said.\nThe process by which the carcasses are destroyed is a natural chemical reaction Lovenheim likens to the process occuring in the small intestine when digesting protein after a meal.\nCurrently, the company has about 40 machines placed throughout the country, primarily in research facilities. Though the discovery of the Washington cow was less than a month ago, Lovenheim said the company already has plans on the drawing board for its biggest machine yet.\n"Along with the increase in concern over BSE, we have a machine on the drawing boards that could safely destroy up to 40,000 pounds of waste and infected cattle parts," Lovenheim said. "That's four times the size of our current largest machine."\nMatt Baun, a spokesman for the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection, says the spread of mad cow disease likely lies in the makeup of the feed given to cows.\n"Scientists do think that BSE is transmitted through food, from feeding parts of the central nervous system of an infected cow to another cow," Baun said. \nThe government is also focusing on restructuring how cows are tested for the BSE.\nAccording to the USDA, 35 million cows go to slaughter each year while 20,000 are tested for BSE. The USDA now plans to hike its testing to 40,000 cows a year. Under new laws announced last week, downer cows -- defined as animals that cannot rise from a recumbent position -- are no longer eligible to be tested for the disease. \n"In the past, downer cows were most frequently tested for BSE. They would come to slaughter and be presented to an FDA veterinarian, and a brain sample would have been tested for the misshaped disease-causing protein," Baun said. "Under the new laws ... downer cows are now outlawed from inspection and remain ineligible for human consumption."\nAnna Cherry, a spokeswoman for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, one group responsible for the testing, said, "We're evaluating all testing options. There will have to be changes in the way cows are tested for BSE now, because we will have to get access to that population in other ways than through the downer cows."\nWhile Lovenheim believes his company's machine can help deal with the byproduct of BSE, he re-affirmed the need for safety in the food-processing industry. But he said his company's machine is just a part of the larger picture.\n"We also have to maintain good practice in the meat plants," Lovenheim said. "There can be no cheating on the regulations designed to promote food safety, and this process is a key part of that cycle"