Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC recently
announced it would voluntarily test all of its cattle for Mad Cow Disease as
a courtesy to its customers and to re-open foreign markets, especially Japan.
But the USDA responded last week, saying it won’t allow Creekstone
to test all of its cattle. Bill Hawks, the USDA secretary for marketing, said
the tests aren’t necessary and "would have implied a consumer safety
aspect that is not scientifically warranted." Creektone’s
chief executive officer, Jon Stewart, disagrees and is ready to take legal
action against the USDA, saying the company has every right to test their
cattle if that’s what their domestic and foreign customers are demanding. /old_articles/madcow/fight041404.cfm