Restoring confidence in beef

A single cow among the millions nationwide being raised for human consumption has tested "presumptively positive" for mad cow disease. News reports about the cow in Washington state sent a shudder down Wall Street trading as beef-futures trading effectively stopped on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange because no one was buying. Restaurant stocks dropped about 5 percent on Wednesday. Meanwhile, several countries suspended beef imports from the United States.

While consumers need to decide for themselves how to deal with this news, they would do well to arm themselves with the facts. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said parts of the animal, from a farm near Yakima, Wash., went to three processing plants in Washington. But she noted that there was little danger to the food supply because muscle cuts of meat "have almost no risk." To the USDA's credit, detection of this diseased cow proves its safety measures are effective.

Agriculture and meat industry officials say potentially diseased parts of the animal — namely the brain and spinal tissue — are removed before they enter the human food supply. No one has ever been infected with the human form of the disease from eating muscle cuts of beef, officials said.

Unfortunately, appeals for calm haven't worked well in other countries where diseased cattle have been detected. Elsewhere, panicked consumers shunned beef, which sent a financial shock through the food industry for years.

Aside from government and industry assurances, the USDA needs to take decisive action to ensure consumer confidence in U.S. beef. At a minimum, Congress needs to revisit legislation to keep meat from animals that are too ill or injured to stand or walk unassisted from entering the food stream. The USDA estimates some 130,000 downed animals are slaughtered each year.

While it is important not to overreact to a single report of mad cow disease, seemingly this measure, which would effectively prohibit the sale of livestock too sick or injured to stand or walk unassisted, would bolster confidence by showing that additional steps have been taken to ensure America's food supply is safe.

Removing sick or injured animals from the slaughter pool will cost some producers, but that's a small price to pay to ensure the overall health of the beef market.