Judge Says U.S. Government Must Allow Private Testing For Mad Cow Disease
WASHINGTON - The federal government must allow meatpackers to test their animals for mad cow disease, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
30 March 2007
1 minute read
Kansas meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to test all its cattle for the disease, a move that larger companies feared. If Creekstone is allowed to advertise its meat as tested and safe, that could essentially force the larger companies to test, too.
The Agriculture Department currently regulates the test and administers it to about 1 percent of slaughtered cows for the disease. The department threatened Creekstone with prosecution if it tested all its animals.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson ruled that the government lacks the authority to regulate the test. Robertson put his order on hold until the government can appeal. If the government does not appeal by June 1, he said the ruling would take effect.
Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is linked to more than 150 human deaths worldwide, mostly in Britain.
Source: Herald Tribune
For more information on BSE, click here.
