WASHINGTON, May 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Inspector General launched a review Wednesday of the recent breach of federal mad cow testing policy in Texas, United Press International has learned.
A cow appeared at Lone Star Beef in San Angelo, Texas, last week that had signs of a central nervous system disorder. Although USDA policy dictates that all such animals be tested for mad cow disease because they are considered the most likely to be infected, agency inspectors did not follow the protocol in this instance and the animal's brain tissue was not examined.
"We're reviewing the process involved with the Lone Star Beef plant in San Angelo to determine what happened," David Gray, counsel to USDA's Office of the Inspector General, told UPI late Wednesday.
Meatingplace.com reported early Wednesday that unnamed government and industry sources, who claimed to have first-hand knowledge of the Texas incident, said a USDA employee in Austin, some 225 miles from Lone Star Beef, overruled the agency inspectors at the plant and made the decision not to test the cow.
Gray said the OIG had not yet determined whether there was any malfeasance by USDA employees. At this point, the probe is only a review, not an audit or an investigation, he added.
The review will seek to determine "why did it happen and then we'll determine where to go from there and take appropriate action," he said.
The USDA said previously it has launched its own investigation into why the mad cow testing procedure was breached in Texas, but the OIG's review will be independent from that, Gray said.
USDA officials could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.
Lone Star Beef issued a statement saying it had been "instructed by the USDA to dispose of the animal."
Although the carcass of the Texas cow was banned from the human food supply, it was transferred to a rendering facility. The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday the rendered material from the cow had been placed on hold but would be permitted to go into pig feed. If the rendering firm elected not to use it for pig feed, the material would be destroyed.
Acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford told UPI the cow's brain and spinal cord -- the most infectious parts of an animal infected with mad cow disease -- were included in the rendered material.
Because there is no way to test the animal for mad cow at this point, Crawford said the agency must respond as if it were infected. The concern is humans can contract a fatal, incurable brain disorder called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from eating meat contaminated with the mad cow pathogen.
The FDA will closely monitor the rendered material and ensure the rendering facility that processed it is decontaminated, Crawford said.
The OIG is currently conducting two investigations related to the USDA's mad cow testing program. One is focused on allegations the USDA veterinarian involved in the case of the infected animal detected in Washington last December falsified documents to indicate the cow was a downer, or unable to stand, after it tested positive.
The other investigation is classified as an audit and is aimed at reviewing the USDA's mad cow surveillance program, both before and after the Washington case, which is the first and only confirmed incident of mad cow in U.S. herds. The OIG is examining whether the agency's policies have been implemented consistently or whether there are regional variations, among other topics.
Asked if the Lone Star Beef incident might be included in the overall audit, Gray said, "It's too early for me to say."
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Steve Mitchell is UPI's Medical Correspondent. E-mail [email protected]
