Creekstone Fights For Right To Test For BSE
Creekstone Farms Premium Beef is finding out how difficult life can be when your opponent in court is the U.S. government. One thing is certain, the government is not worried about running up legal bills.
Here's what we are talking about. Your government wants to stop Creekstone from using its own money to test each and every one of its Black Angus beef cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease.
Last March, Creekstone beat the government at the trial court level. U.S. Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. said the United States Department of Agriculture's prohibition of private tests was "unlawful."
On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments in the case. USDA, which currently tests only one percent of slaughtered cows for BSE, brought the appeal.
With near riots in 30 locations in South Korea over the re-entry of U.S. beef cattle to the Asian country, Creekstone's plan to test for BSE are looking more than savvy. Its testing facility, a state-of-the-art laboratory, is ready to go at its Arkansas City, Kansas plant. All that stands in the way of its ability to respond to customer demand in Korea, Japan and other countries concerned about Mad Cow Disease is Uncle Sam.
USDA says more widespread testing does not guarantee food safety and could result in a false positive that scares consumers. They said Creekstone wants to "create false assurances."
Creekstone said USDA's regulations covering the treatment of domestic animals contain no prohibition against an individual company testing for mad cow disease, since the test is conducted only after a cow is slaughtered. The company insists USDA no authority to prevent the private sector from using the test to reassure customers. Creekstone says USDA wants to keep information from consumers.
Appeals courts generally issue their rulings some weeks after hearing the case.
