Mad Cow Rule Violations Cited

Associated Press
Tuesday, August 16, 2005; Page A05

Over 17 months from January 2004 through May, inspectors found 1,036 violations of rules aimed at preventing mad cow disease from reaching humans, the Agriculture Department said yesterday, adding that no contaminated meat went to consumers.

Meatpackers must remove brains, spinal cords and other nerve parts -- which can carry mad cow disease -- from cows older than 30 months when they are slaughtered.

The number of violations amounts to less than 1 percent of all citations at packing plants, the USDA said.