| 1/2/2004 USDA to Adopt Faster, 48-Hour Mad Cow Test - 1/2 Reuters A week after the discovery of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said all so-called "downer" cattle - those unable to walk because of broken bones, disease or sickness - would be barred from the human food supply. However, some healthy cattle are injured while being trucked to or offloaded at the slaughtering plant. Effective immediately, these animals will be tested for mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), before their carcasses can be processed into beef products, "Inspectors will no longer mark cattle tested for BSE as 'inspected and passed' until ... the animals have, in fact, tested negative for BSE," the USDA said. The Washington dairy cow infected with the brain-wasting disease was unable to walk when she arrived for slaughter on Dec. 9, and deemed a "downer" animal by USDA. Brain tissue was sent that day for mad cow testing, but the carcass was processed into raw beef before the initial test result was completed on Dec. 22. The delay in the test results was due in part to a backlog at the USDA's animal disease laboratory in Ames, Iowa, according to the government. The department this year tested more than 20,000 cattle brains for mad cow disease, and plans to nearly double that in 2004. Anticipating an increase in mad cow testing, the USDA said it will begin using more rapid diagnostic tests. It currently uses what it calls the "gold standard" of mad cow tests, which can take up to five days to complete. "We are talking about one of several rapid tests," said USDA Chief Veterinarian Ron DeHaven. The new, faster tests mean results could be returned to the slaughter plant within 36 to 48 hours, he said. "Samples would be sent by overnight express to the lab," DeHaven said. "If everything goes perfectly ... we would report results the afternoon or early evening the day after they were collected." DeHaven did not elaborate on what rapid test product the USDA planned to adopt. Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. and Abbott Laboratories Inc. sell rapid diagnostic tests to Europe and Japan. Earlier this week, a Republican aide said there was concern among some lawmakers about the faster mad cow tests because of the risk of false positives. As recently as Monday, USDA officials said testing all estimated 150,000 downer cattle each year would do little to strengthen food safety. However, restaurant industry groups, food retailers and consumer advocates have demanded extra safeguards. Related Link: http://www.reuters.com |
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