WASHINGTON — The government on Saturday permanently banned the slaughter of cows too sick or weak to stand on their own, seeking to further minimize the chance that mad cow disease could enter the food supply.
The Agriculture Department proposed the ban last year after the biggest beef recall in U.S. history. The recall involved a Chino, Calif., slaughterhouse and “downer” cows.
“As part of our commitment to public health, our Agriculture Department is closing a loophole in the system to ensure that diseased cows don’t find their way into the food supply,” President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio and video address.
Those kind of cows pose a higher risk of having mad cow disease.
They also are susceptible to infections from bacteria that cause food poisoning, such as E. coli, because the animals wallow in feces.
The Associated Press
