Records contradict USDA's mad cow decision

A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture decision to block a private company from testing all its cattle under 30 months of age for mad cow disease runs contrary to its own records that show it has tested more than 2,000 animals in that age range, United Press International has learned.

The USDA rejected the Creekstone Farms testing plan on the grounds it was scientifically unsound. The Arkansas City, Kan., Black Angus beef producer wanted to test all its cattle for mad cow disease voluntarily so it could export its beef to Japan.

The Asian nation has insisted U.S. firms test all their cattle for mad cow before it will reopen its borders, which were shut to U.S. beef following the detection of a Holstein infected with the disease in Washington state last December.