USDA Rejects Firm’s Mad Cow Testing Plan
The U.S. Department of Agriculture rebuffed a meatpacker’s plan to test every animal at its Kansas plant for mad cow disease.
The license request from Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, a small Kentucky-based company, had created a firestorm in the cattle industry.
The USDA is under pressure from some lawmakers and consumer advocates to expand its testing program. Japan, the biggest market for U.S. beef, which currently has a ban on the product, is demanding that all 35 million cattle that are slaughtered each year be tested.
* More American beef products will be allowed into Mexico, further easing its trade restrictions imposed because of mad cow concerns, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
