Expanded BSE Testing

USDA is planning a ten-fold increase in the number of cattle tested for BSE, so-called mad cow disease --- part of the department’s ongoing efforts to safeguard the U.S. beef supply following the first detection of BSE in the United States last December.

The department plans to test more than 221,000 animals during a 12- and 18-month period beginning in June.

The cost of this testing, which is intended to be a one-time-only effort, is projected at $70-million. The widespread testing was prompted by the recommendations of an international scientific panel appointed a week after the first BSE case was detected in Washington state.

Domestic critics of current USDA efforts are still not satisfied. Felicia Nestor, food safety director for the Government Accountability Project, a watchdog group, said the new testing is no guarantee animals with BSE won't enter the food supply.

Posted by Jim Langcuster at March 17, 2004 08:39 AM | TrackBack