Importation Prohibitions Because of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

We are amending the regulations to prohibit, with limited exceptions, the importation of certain animal materials and their derivatives, and any products they are used in, from regions considered to present an unacceptable risk of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy into the United States. Additionally, we are requiring that those materials, when imported from regions not considered at risk for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, be accompanied by government certification regarding the species, region of origin, processing, and handling of the materials and the animals from which they were derived. These actions are necessary to ensure that materials containing the bovine spongiform encephalopathy agent are not imported into the United States.