WINNPEG – A 12-year-old Texas cow showing symptoms of BSE escaped testing for the disease because of a mistake made by U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors.
Ed Lloyd of the USDA said inspectors had not followed established procedures for bovine spongiform encephalopathy at the Lone Star Beef Plant in San Angelo, Texas April 27.
“The animal was not tested at ante-mortem inspection after it stumbled and collapsed at the slaughter plant. It should have been tested,” he said.
“Apparently the (central nervous system disorder) symptoms were reported to regional supervisors at some point and there was some confusion about testing and it didn’t happen,” he said.
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The older cow was banned from human consumption and was sent to a rendering plant where it was processed into pig feed.
Ron DeHaven, head of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, said the agency was still investigating and would take appropriate action once all information is available.
He said standard procedures call for animals condemned because of possible central nervous system disorders be kept until officials can collect samples for testing. This did not occur in this case and the animal was sent for rendering.
“We hope to have some answers from the investigation soon,” said Lloyd. “It just shouldn’t have happened and we need to know why.”
The USDA is expected to introduce a new enhanced surveillance system June 1 that would expand testing in the United States to more than 200,000 animals annually, up from 20,000 in 2003.
In a letter to all regional directors of the USDA veterinary services dated May 5, John Clifford, a senior APHIS official in Washington, D.C., pointed out the need for inspection of suspect animals.
“APHIS policy is to sample all cattle condemned … on ante-mortem inspection for exhibiting signs compatible with central nervous system diseases, regardless of age,” he said.
The letter said brain samples must be taken after the animal is killed and sent to a USDA lab immediately while other samples are retained.
When the process isn’t followed inspectors must report the incident to senior officials.
USDA also asks, but does not require, that the animals that are tested for BSE not enter the rendering system.
