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Meat Packer Clashes With Feds Over Inspections

USDA Won't Let Packer Test for Mad Cow Disease

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 30, 2007

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Normally, it’s the government that presses for more inspections while industry that drags its heels, but just the reverse is true when it comes to a meat packer in Kansas.

Creekstone Farms wants to test all of its cows for Mad Cow Disease but the U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to stop them.

Under current regulations, USDA tests less than one percent of all slaughtered cows for the disease, which can be fatal if meat from affected animals is ingested by humans. To prevent that, Creekstone Farms has announced its intention to test every cow moving through its plant.

But the federal government has taken the company to court to try to stop it.

Why?

For one thing, testing all of its cattle could give Creekstone Farms an advantage over larger meat packers, who haven’t even considered such a move. If Creekstone can advertise the fact that 100 percent of its beef is tested, competitors worry they could lose market share.

USDA also argues that expanding the use of the test could lead to inaccurate results. A number of false positive readings, the agency says, could do the industry harm.

Though a federal judge ruled on behalf of Creekstone, USDA has said it would appeal. That means the meat packer will not be able to begin administering the tests until the appeals process is exhausted.

A Poor Record

USDA and the beef industry don’t exactly have a stellar record when it comes to protecting consumers from Mad Cow Disease.

A 2005 report by the consumer group Public Citizen found more than 800 Mad Cow safety violations at U.S. meat packing plants. More than half the violations (460) occurred because slaughter plants did not have an adequate plan for dealing with BSE in their plant’s food safety plan, as required by the USDA, the analysis shows.

Of those 460 violations, 60 percent described plans that contained no mention of Mad Cow Disease at all.

There have been three known cases of cows infected with Mad Cow Disease in the U.S. since 2003. The disease originated in Europe, killing several consumers in Britain. Last year U.S. health officials confirmed that a Saudi-born man living in Virginia had a human form of mad cow disease, most likely from eating contaminated beef as a child.

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