A study by Canadian feed inspectors has found bone fragments and other animal material in samples of vegetable-based feed, but health officials say that new rules should prevent future problems. Interim results from the study, obtained by The Vancouver Sun through freedom of information laws, found 41 out of 70 feed samples contained animal materials that were not identified on their labels. The program tested 110 samples in total, but Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) official Sergio Tolusso said he did not know how many contained animal protein. Some of the materials found were hairs, feathers, bone and muscle fragments, blood and milk, Tolusso said.

The tests can distinguish between poultry and mammalian materials, but are not detailed enough to tell whether the material was from cattle, hogs or other mammals, Tolusso said. Cattle feed is allowed to contain protein made from hogs and poultry, while pig and poultry feed can contain any animal protein.

The small study was done as a field trial of a program to test how well feed companies and their suppliers comply with a 1997 ban on feeding protein made from cattle and other ruminant livestock back to cattle, a ban designed to prevent the spread of BSE. Tolusso said the findings should not concern consumers, because Canada has a very low level of mad cow disease. “The feed ban that we have had in place, even if it had some potential design flaws, it has been effective in preventing the disease from spreading,” he said.