Mad Cow USA: More Delays & Denials

MAD COW: Delay and denial
Wednesday, Nov. 24 2004
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

THE CATTLE INDUSTRY is still celebrating after its latest brush with disaster,
a cow that twice tested positive for mad cow disease but was found to be free
of the brain-wasting illness. Even so, it's not too early for us to ask why the
safeguards consumers were promised nearly a year ago still have not been put into place.

Ranching practices that are known to increase the risk of infection - including
using cow blood and other animal matter in feed - are still in use because the
Food and Drug Administration still hasn't published rules outlawing them. The
FDA promised to change those rules last January after a Washington state dairy
cow tested positive for mad cow disease in late December. In July, the agency
said it was looking into a broader ban, but it failed to publish new rules that
would have stopped practices known to increase the risk. That makes no sense.

There still is no tracking system in place to document where an animal is from
and where its meat has gone. Last December, the infected cow was identified only after its meat had been distributed. Even now, no one can say for certain
whether any of that meat was consumed. Understandably, cattle and food industry
groups are concerned about the costs of implementing a tracking system. But the
cost of widespread fear and panic, or a massive recall of meat, would be much
higher in the long run.

Even though the testing program has been stepped up, the federal government still tests far too few animals. The United States tests fewer than 1 percent
of the 35 million cows slaughtered in the country each year. In Europe, all animals over 30 months old are tested. Here, the only mandatory testing is done
at slaughterhouses. Testing of cattle on ranches is voluntary.

Even before Canadian officials announced they had discovered North America's first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy last year, those steps should have been in the works. It was only a matter of time before a case occurred in
this country. The United States and Canada share more than a border; they also
share a single cattle market.

But cattle ranchers and officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture often
have appeared to be in denial, hoping against hope that this grave threat somehow would pass them by.

Officials have refused to say where the cow that twice tested positive in rapid
tests last week was from or how old it was. But officials at USDA and the FDA
should say a silent prayer of thanks, then get busy implementing all they have
promised. Industry should be pressing to have those steps taken, not worrying
that precautions will frighten the public.

It's long past time to implement these necessary safeguards. Delay and denial
won't protect either the beef industry or American consumers. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/
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