http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20040107/cm_usatoday/stepsinmadcowcrisisstopshortofworldclasssafetysnip
But in spite of these moves, the industry and government are using the same old arguments to defend decisions that stop short of more comprehensive testing adopted by other countries. USDA and industry officials say the new regulations are more than adequate, even in the face of the severe financial fallout from one infected cow: a nearly 20% drop in cattle prices and bans on U.S. beef by more than two dozen countries.
This time they may be right, but they are making a costly gamble. It's one that other countries facing similar circumstances have decided isn't worth the possible consequences. The new U.S. testing for mad cow disease falls short on two counts:
Numbers. While the USDA says it will double its testing program from 20,000 to 40,000 cows next year, that's only a small fraction of the 37 million slaughtered annually. In Europe, by contrast, all cows older than 30 months sent to slaughter are tested for the disease, which doesn't manifest itself until cattle are 3 to 4 years old. In Japan, every cow sent to slaughter is tested.
Methods. Europe and Japan use a two-step screening process. An initial quick test identifies suspect cows. Their tissues are then sent to labs for more definitive tests that can take several days. The U.S. skips the quick screening and uses the longer test on a random sample and all cows that look sick.
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---I think the comment on the US testing all cows that look sick is incorrect. There are 200,000 downer cows sent to slaughter in this country per year. 20,000 cows (maybe, the records can't be found according to the USDA reply to UPI) are tested for BSE each year. So it sounds like we're even farther behind that the writer knows.
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