Related Experiment Videos
Effect of rendering procedures on the scrapie agent
D M Taylor1, S L Woodgate, A J Fleetwood
1Neuropathogenesis Unit, Institute for Animal Health, Edinburgh.
The Veterinary Record
|February 18, 1998
Summary
Hyperbaric steam processing effectively inactivated scrapie infectivity in meat and bone meal. However, other rendering processes, including solvent extraction, did not reduce infectivity in greaves.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Science
- Food Safety
- Biosecurity
Background:
- Scrapie is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting sheep and goats.
- Rendering processes are used to convert animal by-products into valuable materials like meat and bone meal and tallow.
- Concerns exist regarding the potential for rendering to transmit scrapie infectivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of various rendering procedures in inactivating scrapie infectivity.
- To assess the impact of specific treatments on the reduction of scrapie agents in animal by-products.
Main Methods:
- Pilot-scale simulations of 15 rendering procedures were used to process scrapie-infected porcine materials.
- Meat and bone meal and tallow were produced and assayed for scrapie infectivity in mice.
- Greaves underwent solvent extraction and steam treatment, followed by infectivity assays.
Main Results:
- Meat and bone meal produced using hyperbaric steam showed no detectable scrapie infectivity.
- Tallow samples did not contain detectable infectivity.
- Solvent extraction and steam treatment of greaves did not reduce scrapie infectivity.
Conclusions:
- Hyperbaric steam is a critical control point for inactivating scrapie infectivity during meat and bone meal production.
- Standard rendering processes, excluding hyperbaric steam, may not eliminate scrapie infectivity.
- Further research is needed to optimize rendering processes for complete prion inactivation.