USDA cuts mad cow testing by 90 percent

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Jul 23rd 2006 @ 4:05PM

The USDA announced this week that it will reduce the number of cattle tested for mad cow disease by 90 percent, the Associated Press reported. Agricultural Secretary Mike Johanns said Thursday that testing one percent of the 35 million cows slaughtered annually in the U.S. is more than what's necessary. The number of cattle tested on a daily basis will now fall from 1,000 to around 110. Current testing costs are approximately $1 million per week, according to the AP. "There is no significant BSE problem in the United States," Johanns said, "and after all of this surveillance, I am able to say there never was."

Filed Under: Farming, Business, Newspapers, Ingredients
Tags: america, beef, bse, cattle, mad cow, number, reduced, reduction, testing, usda

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-23-2006 @7:38PM Finished.Law.School said... Considering the lax testing should anyone be surprised that this idiot thinks that "There is no significant BSE problem in the United States."
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7-23-2006 @11:30PM Gabriella said... This is a bit frightening to me.
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7-24-2006 @10:19AM random said... Yeesh. Glad I switched to free-range, organic beef.
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7-27-2006 @12:12PM Steve said... It would be valuable to know whether the number of cattle tested rises and falls with the perceived threat. It seems odd that just a year or so after the first confirmed case of BCE in the US and just a few more years since the first Canadian cases we would be reducing testing efforts - if the goal of the USDA were to ensure consumer safety.

This does support the idea of eating more grass-fed, range beef. Besides the issues concerning beef raised antibiotics and other odd man-made chemicals, one might expect that free-ranging grass-fed beef is much less likely to be exposed to the animal products that are normally added to standard feedlot fare.
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