EU raises BSE cattle testing age

The testing age for mad cow disease in the EU’s 15 ‘older’ countries has been
raised to 48 months, given fewer cases of the brain-wasting virus, the EU
executive stated on Tuesday this week.

At risk of
BSE
Currently all healthy slaughtered cattle aged over 30 months and
all cattle above 24 months deemed to be at risk of catching bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) must be tested.

In a statement, experts have now
agreed that the new age limit for BSE testing of healthy slaughtered and at-risk
cattle will be 48 months, said the European Commission.

With the go-ahead
of the European Parliament, the revised rule should come into effect in January
2009.

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