Talk about shady. This mad cow was discovered last year (Nov 2004), and the tests that came back two weeks ago pronounced this cow as not having mad cow. What the USDA failed to mention was that they didn't bother to test the mad cow using the Western blot test.
"The department did initial screening using a "rapid test," which was positive. A more detailed immunohistochemistry, or IHC test, was negative. But the department did not conduct a third round, using the Western blot, until the department's inspector general ordered it to do so two weeks ago, said USDA officials, including the inspector general."
It would appear that had it not been for the Inspector General, no further testing would have been done, and the cow would have been designated "safe". The Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns "expressed irritation that the new round of testing had been ordered without his knowledge or approval".
Leave a comment