Mad Cow Found, Testing to be reduced

Government to Scale Back Mad Cow Testing - Yahoo! News

Despite the confirmation of a third case of mad cow disease, the government intends to scale back testing for the brain-wasting disorder blamed for the deaths of more than 150 people in Europe.

[snip]

The testing program detected an infected cow in Alabama last week, and further analysis confirmed Monday that the animal had mad cow disease.

Still, a reduction in testing has been in the works for months. The department’s chief veterinarian, John Clifford, mentioned it when he announced the new case of mad cow disease.

“As we approach the conclusion of our enhanced surveillance program, let me offer a few thoughts,” Clifford said, explaining that the U.S. will follow international standards for testing.

Agriculture Secretary
Mike Johanns pointed out testing is not a food safety measure. Rather, it’s a way to find out the prevalence of the disease.

So let me get this straight - we increased testing after finding possible mad cow case. The increased testing found a mad cow case. And now it is being reduced… because it was planned all along.

This might explain things:

Consumer groups want every animal to be tested, said Gary Weber, head of regulatory affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in Denver.

“It’s not cost-effective; it’s not necessary,” Weber said. “The consumers we’ve done focus groups with are comfortable that this is a very rare disease and we’ve got safeguards in place.

I bet I know what happened at this focus group:

Q: We’re thinking of doing lots of unnecessary testing for a super rare disease called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, which may raise the price of beef to $20 a pound. How do you feel about that?

But that’s just my guess.