DMGMad Cow Tests to be Scaled Back
In a staggering disregard for public safety, the U.S. Agriculture Department plans to test fewer cows for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, aka "Mad Cow Disease", reports Forbes. Yes, they've found three cows with BSE in the US. No, they're not going to go looking for any more.
Why? Because they don't consider testing for Mad Cow a safety measure. From the article:
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.[...]
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.
I'm with Consumerist here when I say, WTF?
I can only speculate that Mike Johanns has already been infected.
Update 3/24/'06: BSE can only be detected in cattle older than 30 months. Since most are slaughtered at around 20 months, testing all slaughtered cattle will not keep BSE out of human food supplies. More here.