If a company wants to take it on themselves to test what they are putting on the market, I would feel a whole lot safer knowing it had been tested; even if it was too young to show up. I don’t know what beef cut you are eating but the majority of us out here are eating the cheapest thing walmart sells.

The military instituted a service wide test for AIDS in the late 80’s, but it takes several years to show up. So if you got it last night. reckon you got a while to wait.

Besides, if they are paying for it who cares and it costs less than 10 cents a pound to the consumer.

Reckon if it were another bovine disease uncle sam would be pumping millions into the only company that makes the test or inoculation as the case is with anthrax. Its sorta ironic that the only people that were targeted were politicians who apparently have know idea what a chem suit is for and by one of their own.

I SAY LET THEM TEST AND I’LL SEE IF I CAN AFFORD A TESTED BURGER ON PAYDAYS.

Most cattle raised for beef are slaughtered at 15-18 months, half the age at which BSE can first be detected. Almost all commercial beef cattle are slaughtered before 30 months. Slaughter past that age is generally restricted to milk cattle and breeders who have outlived their functions, and goes to hamburger and feed and byproducts. As BSE resides in the nueral tissues, that’s where the greatest chance of exposure is–in food products uisng everything but the moo….

The FDA’s position is that the test won’t reveal a BSE-infected cow that’s less than about 5 years old, and so testing all slaughtered beef cows, which average about 24 months in age would never show a positive result, even if the cow were in fact infected.

I’m sorry I didn’t specify, but I was talking about testing cattle after the appropriate gestation period.

Suppose you were deciding whether to sleep with someone, and they said “it’s ok, I’ve been tested.” You feel safer. But suppose you then found out they had been tested last a year ago, and since that time they’ve participated in 3 orgies with a bunch of IV drug users and promiscuous bi-sexuals. Suddenly, the fact of the testing offers much less reassurance. The fact of the test may blind you into inquiring about other risk factors.

If there’s SOME chance that the test might provide a better degree of comfort that the beef is BSE-free, then the container analogy may work. But if the FDA is correct that the test just won’t catch any cows, even if they are BSE infected, if they’re younger than 3 to 5 years old, then the test is completely worthless and offers only a false reassurance. As I noted in my post, even Europe only tests cattle that are 30 months old or more.

Kudos on the retraction, though. I’ve been very pleased to see the reaction by bloggers of all political stripes on this issue.