Volume 10: Economic Impact and International Trade
4. Where did the economic consequences of BSE finally fall?
Businesses which were largely unaffected

4.24 There were a number of businesses that had some connection with the beef and cattle industry but which the BSE epidemic affected little or not at all.

4.25 The pet food industry was already using very little in the way of beef products. Very early on it switched to alternative protein sources with no significant impact on its processing costs.

4.26 Both the medical and cosmetics industries had been using small amounts of beef by-products in their own products. They switched to foreign suppliers. This change of source for these commodities resulted in no appreciable increased costs. ¹

4.27 After the imposition of the ruminant feed ban, feedmills and compounders could no longer market feed containing MBM. However, before the ban was imposed they were given some opportunity to run down their inventory, and they were able to incorporate their remaining stocks into feed for non-ruminants.

4.28 It also appears that feedmills were able to pass on the additional costs to farmers when they were required to switch from MBM to alternative concentrated protein sources.