BSE Testing Back to Normal

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns on July 20 announced that USDA will transition testing levels in its BSE surveillance program to sample approximately 40,000 animals each year. This was the testing level prior to the 2003 discovery of BSE in Washington state. USDA says the new surveillance program will provide testing at a level ten times higher than the level recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

NCBA believes this move is scientifically justified and reflects an appropriate level of testing for a country with an extremely low risk of BSE. The food supply remains safe from BSE because of extensive protective measures already in place, such as the feed ban and removal of specified risk materials at slaughter.

USDA enhanced its BSE surveillance program on June 1, 2004, to more accurately determine the prevalence of BSE in the United States.  USDA tested approximately 5,000 samples per week from animals identified as most likely to have the disease.

The International Review Team recommended the enhanced surveillance program for a 12 to 18 month period to determine BSE prevalence in the United States.  Now, 25 months later, the program has tested more than 780,000 cattle and only identified two cases.

Testing 268,500 animals can detect BSE at a rate of 1 in 10 million adult cattle at a 99 percent confidence level.