U.S. Won't Let Company Test All Its Cattle for Mad Cow

News and Opinion for Democrats Against Bush -- Part I a

U.S. Won't Let Company Test All Its Cattle for Mad Cow

"Consumer groups accused the department of bending to the will of the beef lobby, saying producers do not want the expense of proving that all cattle are safe or the damage to meat sales that would result if more cases of mad cow are found."

Miami Herald

U.S. bars farm's use of rapid mad-cow test

The Department of Agriculture says a Kansas farm may not use a rapid-result test to screen all slaughtered animals for mad cow disease.

New York Times Service

The complete article is currently (4/10/04) available on the Miami Herald's website at-- http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/health/8400800.htm?1c

Opening words--

FOOD SAFETY

The Department of Agriculture on Friday refused to allow a Kansas beef producer to test all its cattle for mad cow disease, saying such sweeping tests were ``not scientifically warranted.''

The exporter, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, wanted to use newly approved rapid tests so it could resume selling its fat-marbled Black Angus beef to Japan, which banned imports of American beef after a cow slaughtered in Washington state last December tested positive for mad cow disease.

The company has complained that the ban is costing it $40,000 a day and forced it to lay off 50 employees.

The Agriculture Department's undersecretary for marketing and regulation, Bill Hawks, said in a statement Friday that the rapid tests, which are used in Japan and Europe, were licensed for surveillance of animal health -- while Creekstone's use would have ``implied a consumer safety aspect that is not scientifically warranted.'' ...

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