| -Caveat Lector-
So? They don't wait for the test results before processing the meat anyway.
There is a new test available (being used in the U.K.) that can process 8,000
tests per 24 hours and only adds about two or three cents to the cost of a pound
of beef.
The truth is the USDA wasn't serious about testing for Mad Cow disease. In
Japan, every cow is tested, whether or not a "downer." The USDA
claims they tested 20,000 cows (downers) out of about 200,000 downers (in 2002
and 2003) but can't find the paperwork. The Secretary of Agriculture (Ann
Veneman) is a former lobbyist for the cattle industry. Does that answer some
questions? - JR
By Randy Fabi WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A tissue sample from a
Washington state dairy cow sat in a federal laboratory for a week before it was
tested and diagnosed as mad cow disease because of a backlog of samples, the
U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.
Head USDA veterinarian Ron DeHaven said all brain samples from "downer"
cattle -- animals too sick or injured to walk -- are sent to its federal
laboratory in Ames, Iowa. The lab tested 20,526 head of cattle for mad cow
disease last year.
The USDA defended the length of time it took to diagnose the disease.
"There was no delay here other than normal processing and the fact that we
are testing tens of thousands of samples a year in that laboratory," DeHaven
told reporters.
USDA meat inspectors in Washington state on Dec. 9 sent samples of a sick
Holstein cow to its animal laboratory in Ames, Iowa. Because of a backlog at the
lab, scientists were not able to test the sample until a week later, he said.
A public announcement that the sample tested positive for mad cow disease was
made on Tuesday evening by Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.
Despite the existence of mad cow tests that take only a few hours, the USDA
uses a diagnostic test that can take as long as five days to complete.
"Because of the volume we have been doing, we have not gone to any of the
rapid screening tests that typically you can run in a matter of hours," DeHaven
said. "We have been using strictly the gold standard testing ... for all of
these samples."
Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. and Abbott Laboratories Inc. sell more rapid
diagnostic tests to Europe and Japan. The USDA has not approved either products.
A tissue sample of the U.S. cow was flown to an animal laboratory in England
for additional confirmation, which is expected within two to four days.
Paul Brown, a mad cow expert with the National Institutes of Health (news
- web
sites), said companies were scrambling to produce faster mad cow tests for
the U.S. market. "Somebody is going to be made a billionaire. Someone is going
to make a huge amount of money on this," Brown said.
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