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BEEF NEWS
USDA's BSE test protocols spur worldwide rumblings
by Pete Hisey on 6/28/2005 for Meatingplace.com
Taiwan snapped its border shut to U.S. beef hours after Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced that a false-negative test for bovine spongiform encephalopathy had been confirmed as positive by a British laboratory. Japan's initial reaction was moderate, but after discovering more details about the evidently bungled testing protocols USDA has used, demanded full records of the tests that took place last fall.
Meanwhile, leading U.S. newspapers published scathing attacks on USDA for, among other things, mingling the parts of the suspect animal with parts from other animals from different herds; freezing the remains, which makes detection more difficult; and failing to order the most definitive test on the market, the Western blot test.
But the blockbuster came from the New York Times, which reported on Sunday that USDA had actually received a positive result from an experimental test protocol, but chose not to report that result. "Until Friday, it was not public knowledge that an 'experimental' test had been performed by an Agriculture Department laboratory on the brain of a cow suspected of having mad cow disease, and the test had come up positive," the newspaper reported. USDA claimed that this result was never reported to Washington from the laboratory in Ames, Iowa.
Taiwan reinstitutes beef ban, Japan demands details
Taiwan Premier Frank Hsieh immediately ordered an end to imports of American beef upon hearing the report about the positive test of the animal, now believed to be a beef animal from Texas. He said, however, that existing supplies of U.S. beef could continue to be sold.
Members of Taiwan's parliament immediately launched a lawsuit against the country's health department chief, Hou Sheng-Mao, demanding that he remove the U.S. beef from the marketplace.
"Hou was suspected of using his authority to benefit U.S. beef importers and markets," one legislator said. Another demanded that Hou resign immediately.
If it turns out that the latest reported case of BSE involves an animal born in the U.S., Japan says "the planned resumption of U.S. beef imports will likely be delayed," Asia Pulse reported Monday.
Japan plans to demand full details about the animal and USDA testing procedures, the news service said. Japanese officials had initially said that the discovery made no difference in their deliberations, since they expected at least a handful of cases would be found eventually in the U.S. herd.
U.S. will change testing protocols, reconsider surveillance strategy
In an Associated Press interview, Dr. John Clifford, USDA's chief veterinarian, said that test results were delayed because the animal in question was misidentified by breed, perhaps due to feces discoloring its hide, and its body parts were mixed with remains of other cattle. When USDA initially tried to trace the animal, the farmer said that it couldn't be his, because he raised a different breed of cattle. USDA believes it has now identified the animal's home herd and is using DNA testing on presumed herd mates to confirm that.
Johanns said that in light of the testing failure, USDA will consult with international and U.S. authorities to develop a more effective set of protocols, probably involving the Western blot test to settle any ambiguous situations. He also said that in light of the discovery of what is presumed to be a native animal, the department will reconsider its plan to scale back surveillance testing of high-risk animals. Several critics have suggested that USDA begin checking younger, asymptomatic cattle as well as older, symptomatic animals to get a true picture of the prevalence of BSE in the herd.
Johanns said that Inspector General Phyllis Fong ordered the retests with the Western blot three weeks ago without his knowledge, and he was unaware of the testing until it was underway. The day before the initial positive result was reported, on June 9, Johanns was asked by Meatingplace.com why the department refused to use the Western blot. Johanns replied that, despite the previous policy that called the immunohistochemistry (IHC) test the "gold standard" in BSE testing, there are "two gold standards," but USDA had decided to go with IHC testing for consistency's sake. In December 2003, when the first U.S. case of BSE was detected, USDA used the Western blot to confirm it.
USDA's BSE test protocols spur worldwide rumblings
by Pete Hisey on 6/28/2005 for Meatingplace.com
Taiwan snapped its border shut to U.S. beef hours after Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced that a false-negative test for bovine spongiform encephalopathy had been confirmed as positive by a British laboratory. Japan's initial reaction was moderate, but after discovering more details about the evidently bungled testing protocols USDA has used, demanded full records of the tests that took place last fall.
Meanwhile, leading U.S. newspapers published scathing attacks on USDA for, among other things, mingling the parts of the suspect animal with parts from other animals from different herds; freezing the remains, which makes detection more difficult; and failing to order the most definitive test on the market, the Western blot test.
But the blockbuster came from the New York Times, which reported on Sunday that USDA had actually received a positive result from an experimental test protocol, but chose not to report that result. "Until Friday, it was not public knowledge that an 'experimental' test had been performed by an Agriculture Department laboratory on the brain of a cow suspected of having mad cow disease, and the test had come up positive," the newspaper reported. USDA claimed that this result was never reported to Washington from the laboratory in Ames, Iowa.
Taiwan reinstitutes beef ban, Japan demands details
Taiwan Premier Frank Hsieh immediately ordered an end to imports of American beef upon hearing the report about the positive test of the animal, now believed to be a beef animal from Texas. He said, however, that existing supplies of U.S. beef could continue to be sold.
Members of Taiwan's parliament immediately launched a lawsuit against the country's health department chief, Hou Sheng-Mao, demanding that he remove the U.S. beef from the marketplace.
"Hou was suspected of using his authority to benefit U.S. beef importers and markets," one legislator said. Another demanded that Hou resign immediately.
If it turns out that the latest reported case of BSE involves an animal born in the U.S., Japan says "the planned resumption of U.S. beef imports will likely be delayed," Asia Pulse reported Monday.
Japan plans to demand full details about the animal and USDA testing procedures, the news service said. Japanese officials had initially said that the discovery made no difference in their deliberations, since they expected at least a handful of cases would be found eventually in the U.S. herd.
U.S. will change testing protocols, reconsider surveillance strategy
In an Associated Press interview, Dr. John Clifford, USDA's chief veterinarian, said that test results were delayed because the animal in question was misidentified by breed, perhaps due to feces discoloring its hide, and its body parts were mixed with remains of other cattle. When USDA initially tried to trace the animal, the farmer said that it couldn't be his, because he raised a different breed of cattle. USDA believes it has now identified the animal's home herd and is using DNA testing on presumed herd mates to confirm that.
Johanns said that in light of the testing failure, USDA will consult with international and U.S. authorities to develop a more effective set of protocols, probably involving the Western blot test to settle any ambiguous situations. He also said that in light of the discovery of what is presumed to be a native animal, the department will reconsider its plan to scale back surveillance testing of high-risk animals. Several critics have suggested that USDA begin checking younger, asymptomatic cattle as well as older, symptomatic animals to get a true picture of the prevalence of BSE in the herd.
Johanns said that Inspector General Phyllis Fong ordered the retests with the Western blot three weeks ago without his knowledge, and he was unaware of the testing until it was underway. The day before the initial positive result was reported, on June 9, Johanns was asked by Meatingplace.com why the department refused to use the Western blot. Johanns replied that, despite the previous policy that called the immunohistochemistry (IHC) test the "gold standard" in BSE testing, there are "two gold standards," but USDA had decided to go with IHC testing for consistency's sake. In December 2003, when the first U.S. case of BSE was detected, USDA used the Western blot to confirm it.
