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USDA
issues conditional license for cattle vaccine for E. coli Source of Article: http://www.ift.org/news_bin/news/news_home.shtml 3/18/2009-Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture has issued
a conditional license to Epitopix, LLC, of Willmar, Minn., for a vaccine to
reduce the prevalence of E.
coli O157 in feedlot cattle. A common path for E. coli O157 to enter
the food supply is when muscle tissue becomes contaminated with the pathogen
from the intestinal tract of cattle during the slaughtering process. Vaccines
to reduce the prevalence and shedding of E.
coli pathogens in cattle are one component of a wide-range of
options to enhance food safety controls. USDA's Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) granted the conditional license following
the acceptance of data supporting product safety and a reasonable expectation
of efficacy. The safety data included the results of studies that evaluated
the product under normal conditions, including field safety trials of the
size and scope required for full licensure. The company will conduct
additional potency and efficacy studies during the one-year period of the
condition license. APHIS issues conditional
licenses in the event of an emergency situation, limited market, or other
special circumstance. The special circumstance in this case is the absence of
other licensed veterinary biological products for use in reducing the
prevalence and shedding of E.
coli O157 in cattle. “Providing the American
people with safe and nutritious food is a top priority for President Obama
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture," Vilsack said. “The conditional
licensing of this vaccine is an important step toward our goal of improving
food safety in this country.”
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