November 18, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONSUMERS UNION SAYS FDA ACTION OVERDUE ON MAD COW RISK

Agency should immediately close loopholes in animal feed rules; more cows
should be tested annually

CONTACT: Michael Hansen at (914) 378-2452 or Jean Halloran at (914) 378-245;
<www.consumersunion.org>

YONKERS, N.Y. - The U.S. Agriculture Department's announcement that it is
evaluating another cow to confirm or deny its infection with mad cow disease
underscores the need for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act now
to protect the public and for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to
test more cows annually, Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports,
said today.

"FDA must immediately close loopholes in its rules on animal feed that could
allow the disease to spread," said Michael Hansen, Ph.D., a research
biologist at CU.

In January, the FDA promised to make changes in animal feed rules, in the
wake of the discovery of the first mad cow case in the U.S. But FDA never
followed through. FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan initially announced that
the agency would ban cow blood and several other materials that pose risks
in terms of transmission of mad cow disease in cattle feed. However, the
agency never published the regulations in the Federal Register. In July, the
FDA said it was considering broader restrictions, thereby postponing any
action even further.

"This foot dragging must stop," Hansen said. "The agency has known for a
while that cow blood and chicken coop floor waste could be vehicles for
transmission of mad cow disease. FDA should act immediately to prohibit
these substances as well as restaurant waste and pig and poultry
slaughterhouse waste, in ruminant feed."

Hansen added that the USDA should also test far more than 1% of the cows
slaughtered each year, a much smaller figure than the percentage tested in
Japan and most of Europe. The USDA has tested 113,000 cows since it began a
broader test program earlier this year, but more than 35 million cattle are
slaughtered for food in the country each year.

"While testing alone will not fully protect the public, we should be testing
all animals over 20 months, said Hansen. "Even animals that test negative
can be silent carriers of this infection," Hansen added."

# # #

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, is an independent
nonprofit testing, educational and information organization serving only the
consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products
and services, personal finance, health, nutrition and other consumer
concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the
public and protect consumers.