Bush "Report Card" on America's Mad Cow Crisis

Bush Administration Mad Cow Disease Prevention REPORT CARD
June 22, 2004 Prepared by: Center for Food Safety * Consumers Union
The Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation * Friends of the Earth Government
Accountability Project Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy - Action
* Public Citizen

PRIORITY ACTION
GRADE

1. Testing All Cattle 20 Months or Older for Mad Cow Disease
D

While USDA officials have said they would increase testing of cattle from
20,000 to approximately 268,000 per year, this is less than 1% of all the
cattle slaughtered each year in this country and does not include all older
animals. Cattle as young as 20 months of age have been identified with mad
cow disease in other countries. To maximize the effectiveness of the
surveillance program, and to make it less likely that infected cattle make
it into the food supply, every cow over the age of 20 months should be
tested at slaughter. USDA's decision to withhold all beef that is in the
process of being tested from the food supply is a long overdue step, but the
number of cattle being tested falls far short of what is needed.


2. Allowing Beef Producers to Test Their Cattle for Mad Cow Disease
F

The USDA has adamantly opposed requests by private cattle producers for
permission to test their cattle voluntarily. Private testing would
supplement government testing without costing taxpayers. It could increase
the safety of the food supply by potentially finding and removing more
diseased animals. It would also allow producers to recover lost export
markets or serve niche markets in the U.S. where customers want more testing
than currently planned by the U.S. government. The USDA has claimed that
more testing would "imply a consumer safety aspect that is not
scientifically warranted," but customers know that more testing means
statistically that more mad cows are likely to be found and removed from the
food chain. This would increase food safety.

3. Ensuring That Feed Restrictions Prevent Mad Cow Disease
D

In January, FDA proposed new regulations to keep cattle parts from being fed
to cattle and to keep high risk material out of our food, cosmetics and
pharmaceuticals. But five months have passed and the administration has yet
to submit the proposal to the Federal Register to begin the public comment
process. The administration’s delay is putting our safety in jeopardy. In
addition, the proposal has a loophole allowing salvaged pet food to be fed
to cattle. It also fails to prohibit feeding of mammals, such as pigs and
deer to cattle, as recommended by an international advisory panel convened
by the USDA. The FDA did testify to Congress in April that enforcement funds
should be increased by more than $8 million to a total of more than $30
million.

4. Keeping All Downer Animals out of Food and Feed
B

The USDA has established a policy that now prohibits all "downer" cattle
from the human food supply -- a move that is warranted to protect public
health. However, the USDA violated its own policy when the Department
directed inspectors not to test a downer cow in Texas in May 2004. The ban
would be improved if it were extended to include other downer animals, such
as deer, elk, pigs, sheep and bison.

5. Implementing a National Animal Identification and Tracking System C

A national identification and tracking system is needed to speed recalls of
tainted beef and to swiftly identify and locate herd mates of cattle found
to have mad cow disease to prevent its spread. A tracking system would also
enable the USDA to trace back pathogens, like deadly forms of E. coli, to
identify and change practices on farms with conditions that foster these
problems. USDA Secretary Veneman has talked about how a national animal
identification system will be in place in the future, but has been slow to
take action and has rejected inclusion of traceback for pathogens. On June
10, 2004, the USDA announced a series of public meetings to gather feedback
on a national animal ID system and $18 million for pilot projects. However,
systems have been under evaluation for years suggesting that the hearings
will only further delay implementation.

6. Increasing Surveillance for Brain-Wasting Disease in Humans and
Requiring Mandatory Reporting of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
D

Tracking of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) which is sometimes caused by
consumption of diseased beef is essential to determine the extent of mad cow
disease and to detecting any new variants of the disease. The government
has so far overlooked making improvements in tracking the disease in humans
while it has focused on making policy reforms regarding cattle. The Centers
for Disease Control did investigate a cluster of CJD cases in New Jersey,
but only after intense pressure from Congress and citizens. Mandatory
reporting of CJD would assist scientists in tracking the disease. The CJD
Foundation has requested an $800,000 increase in funding for the National
Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center. Full funding for the Center
would assist scientists in tracking the disease.

7. Establishing USDA Mandatory Recall Authority for Contaminated Meat
D

USDA Secretary Veneman was asked by the Senate Agriculture committee whether
any additional statutory authority was needed and she replied, "no." This
was a missed opportunity to ask for recall authority necessary to remove
meat contaminated with mad cow disease or other pathogens from the food
supply. USDA also maintains a policy not to release names of stores that
have received suspect meat, denying consumers important information. USDA
did improve its rules meant to prevent potentially contaminated meat from
entering the food supply when it established a "test-and-hold" requirement
to keep suspected mad cows out of the food supply as long as test results
were pending. A “test-and-hold” approach can prevent costly recalls.

8. Implementing Country Of Origin Labeling As Required by the
2002 Farm Bill
D

The Bush administration has lobbied for a two-year delay of Country of
Origin Labeling (COOL). Labeling would provide information consumers need
to have a choice about whether to buy beef from a country with mad cow
disease in its herds. Administration support for full funding of COOL in
the FY04 Appropriations bill would likely have led to implementation. USDA
Secretary Ann Veneman said on June 2 that, “It is not something that the
Administration supported.”

9. Following Its Own Rules
F

The USDA broke its own rules meant to prevent mad cow disease and is under
investigation for another possible infraction. The USDA's Inspector General
is conducting a criminal investigation into claims by multiple witnesses
that the USDA falsified its report saying the mad cow discovered in
Washington State was a downer. It is not disputed that downers pose a high
risk for mad cow disease and should be kept out of the food supply. However,
if the Washington State cow was not a downer, this demonstrates that there
are cattle other than downers that should be tested, as recommended by the
USDA's own international advisory panel. In September 2003, the USDA banned
imports of ground beef and other forms of processed beef from Canada in
response to the Canadian discovery of mad cow disease in May 2003.
Subsequently, a federal judge found that the department allowed millions of
pounds of these products to be imported despite its own rule. In May 2004,
USDA officials also directed inspectors in Texas not to test a downer cow in
violation of the new USDA policy that all downer cattle must be tested.

10. Providing Opportunities for Public Input on Mad Cow Prevention
D

Although the USDA recently announced public listening sessions on the single
issue of a national animal ID system, the department has not offered public
hearings on the larger set of issues facing the American public despite
repeated requests by public interest groups. This contrasts with the actions
of the USDA under the leadership of Dan Glickman when the department held
numerous public hearings in the 1990s after a deadly outbreak of E. coli.

Overall Grade
D