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Summary:
On December 23, 2003, USDA announced that a Holstein dairy cow in Washington State had tested positive for BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease), the first case discovered in the United States and the second native case in North America. The animal was born in April 1997 in Canada, shortly before both countries banned the practice of feeding most ruminant material back to ruminants, including cattle (BSE-contaminated feed is considered the most likely cause of infection).
In late June 2004, USDA announced that screening tests had shown ÒinconclusiveÓ (i.e., possible positive) results for BSE in two more animals. Cattle markets were highly volatile during the next several days of more rigorous testing, which found that neither animal had BSE. These test results emerged shortly after USDA began, on June 1, an expanded BSE surveillance program to test at least 220,000 mostly higher-risk cattle over a 12-18 month period.
Most countries had banned U.S. beef after the December discovery. A few have partially reopened, but Japan, the leading U.S. market, has insisted that all cattle killed for its market be tested for BSE. USDA contends that 100% testing is unscientific.
USDA, which claims legal authority to approve test methods and uses, has denied the request of a smaller U.S. packer, Creekstone Farms, to test all of its cattle. USDA and some industry officials are concerned that permitting 100% testing would undermine negotiations and imply, misleadingly, that tested is safer than untested meat.
USDA and other experts contend that the risk to human health from one or a few U.S. cases is minimal. Nonetheless, USDA has intensified efforts to improve BSE safeguards, including banning downer (nonambulatory) cattle from human food; keeping from the food supply additional higher-risk animal parts; accelerating work on a national animal identification system for disease purposes; and increasing funds for BSE-related activities.
On January 26, 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would strengthen its own BSE rules, banning higher-risk bovine materials from the human foods and cosmetics it regulates and tightening feed restrictions. On July 9, 2004, FDA finally announced that an interim final rule will prohibit certain cattle-derived materials in agency-regulated products. Also on July 9, FDA joined USDA in announcing a forthcoming advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking comment on additional preventive actions under consideration, including possibly tighter animal feed rules.
In May 2004, in response to a lawsuit, USDA officials acknowledged they had erred administratively by permitting millions of pounds of previously suspended Canadian beef cuts to enter. A court agreement now limits such imports to lower-risk products until appropriate rulemaking is completed.
Various congressional committees have been holding BSE hearings. BSE-related bills include legislation to ban downers for food (H.R. 2519, S. 1298), to prescribe mandatory animal ID and/or meat traceability rules (H.R. 3546, H.R. 3787, H.R. 3822, H.R. 3961, H.R. 4005, S. 1202, S. 2008, S. 2070), and to require BSE tests on most cattle (H.R. 3705), as well as other bills (S. 2051, S. 2007, S. 2451, H.R. 3714, H.R. 4001, H.R. 4121, H.R. 4576).
