If You Doubt That Our Public Health Is In Decline...

Testing for Mad Cow Disease to Be Cut: U.S. Says It Will Monitor 110 Cattle a Day Instead of 1,000

Yet another cut to the forces and procedures that protect the quality and purity of our food supply. Our public health is in decline in comparison to the effort put forth 30 years ago and in comparsion to other industrialized, wealthy nations. It is really a disgrace that needs our attention. Of course, big agro-corporations are behind the effort to cut the cost of testing our beef.

The Agriculture Department said yesterday that it is cutting its testing for mad cow disease by about 90 percent, drawing protests from consumer groups.

The current testing level -- 1,000 each day -- reflects the heightened concern that followed the discovery of the disease in a U.S. cow in December 2003.

Since then, tests have turned up two more cases of the disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE. The government says there may be a handful of undetected cases.

"It's time that our surveillance efforts reflect what we now know is a very, very low level of BSE in the United States," Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said. "There is no significant BSE problem in the United States, and after all of this surveillance, I am able to say there never was."

Critics said now is not the time to scale back on the testing, which costs the government about $1 million per week.

"It surely will not encourage consumers in the U.S. or Japan to rush to the store to buy more beef," said Carol Tucker Foreman, food-policy director for Consumer Federation of America.

A second group, Consumers Union, advocates testing every slaughtered animal.

The current level of testing covers about 1 percent of the 35 million cattle slaughtered annually. Beginning around late August, the level will be about 110 tests per day.

Johanns's comments were applauded by industry groups such as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

It noted that 110 tests per day is significantly higher than what the World Organization for Animal Health calls for.

Johanns said he hopes the reduction will not affect negotiations on resuming beef trade with Japan, which has pushed for at least 1,000 tests a day.

Japan was a huge consumer of U.S. beef before the first American case of mad cow disease.