Order Code RL32932
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or
“Mad Cow Disease”) in North America:
A Chronology of Selected Events
Updated November 8, 2005
Geoffrey S. Becker
Specialist in Agricultural Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or
“Mad Cow Disease”) in North America:
A Chronology of Selected Events
Summary
This report provides a chronology of selected events leading up to and following
the discoveries of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or “mad cow disease”)
in North America. These are primarily regulatory, legal, and congressional
developments that are frequently referenced in the ongoing policy debate. The
chronology does not contain entries for the introduction of the many BSE-related
bills introduced into this or previous Congresses, except for those in recent years
where committee or floor action has occurred. This report, which will be updated if
significant developments ensue, is intended to be used alongside other CRS reports
that provide more background and context for the BSE policy debate, and that cover
many specific legislative proposals.
The chronology begins in 1986, when BSE was first identified by a British
laboratory. As the United Kingdom and others attempted to understand and contain
BSE, the U.S. and Canadian governments were establishing panels to study the
disease and began instituting a series of safeguards aimed at keeping it out of North
America or stopping any spread if it should occur here. The chronology proceeds
into May 2003, when Canada reported the first native case in North America;
December 2003, when the United States reported finding a case in a U.S. herd; and
most of 2004, when both countries worked to reassure consumers of the safety of
North American cattle and beef and to reopen foreign markets blocking these exports.
U.S. and Canadian officials since 2003 also have been strengthening various
regulatory safeguards aimed at protecting the cattle herd and the food supply from
BSE.
The chronology concludes with major events of late 2004 and 2005, which have
revolved around efforts to re-establish more open cattle and beef trade within North
America, including a U.S. cattle group’s lawsuits to slow such efforts, and the steps
being taken to regain the Japanese market, which was until December 2003 the
leading buyer of U.S. beef. Japan has remained closed through much of 2005, as has
South Korea, another important foreign customer until closing its market in
December 2003. Congress can be expected to continue to play a role, holding
oversight hearings, providing funding for BSE-related activities, and possibly
considering legislative options to address one or more of the outstanding issues.

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Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Key to Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Early BSE Developments (November 1986-December 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Developments Following First Reported Canadian Case (January-
November 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Developments Following First Reported U.S. Case (December 2003-
December 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Developments Following Second and Third Reported Canadian Cases
(January 2005-May 2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Developments Following Second Reported U.S. Case (Since June 2005) . 23
Postscript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE,
or “Mad Cow Disease”) in North America:
A Chronology of Selected Events
Introduction
This report provides a chronology of selected events leading up to and following
the discoveries of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or “mad cow disease”)
in North America. So far, five native cases have been confirmed on this continent,
four in Canada and one in the United States.1 BSE is a degenerative disease that is
fatal to cattle, affecting their nervous system, and it has been linked to a rare but fatal
human form of the disease which has occurred primarily in the United Kingdom,
where most BSE cases also have been reported.
The following chronology is not intended to be comprehensive. It is intended
to be a timeline for selected regulatory, legal, and congressional developments that
are frequently referenced in the ongoing policy debate. It does not contain entries for
the introduction of the many BSE-related bills introduced into this or previous
Congresses, except for those in recent years where committee or floor action has
occurred. Nor does it cover a number of policy developments that are not directly
BSE-related, but that nonetheless have arisen within the context of BSE debate, such
as a universal animal identification (ID) program and country of original labeling
(COOL) for meats and other commodities.
Other CRS reports may provide more background and context for this policy
debate. These include:
! CRS Issue Brief IB10127, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad
Cow Disease): Agricultural Issues for Congress, by Geoffrey S.
Becker;
! CRS Report RL32414, The Private Testing of Mad Cow Disease:
Legal Issues, by Stephen R. Viña;
! CRS Report RS21709, Mad Cow Disease and U.S. Beef Trade, by
Charles E. Hanrahan and Geoffrey S. Becker; and
! CRS Report RL32199, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or
“Mad Cow Disease”): Current and Proposed Safeguards, by
Geoffrey S. Becker and Sarah A. Lister.
Unless noted, the sources for the entries in this chronology are the above reports,
as well as various U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug
1 Canada reported a BSE case in 1993; however, the animal was imported in 1987 from
Great Britain.

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CRS-2
Administration (FDA) press releases, fact sheets, and other publicly available
materials, reports of hearings before the House and Senate Agriculture Committees,
and for some entries, articles that appeared in leading food and agriculture trade
periodicals including Food Chemical News, Feedstuffs, and Cattle Buyers Weekly.
Key to Acronyms
For an explanation of these and related BSE terms in this report, see the reports
listed on the previous page, and also CRS Report 97-905, Agriculture: A Glossary
of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition, by Jasper Womach, coordinator.
AMR
Advanced meat recovery
AMS
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service
APHIS
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
BSE
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow disease”)
CCC
USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation
CFIA
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
DHHS
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
FDA
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
EU
European Union
FSIS
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service
GAO
U.S. Government Accountability Office
IHC
Immunohistochemistry
MBM
Meat and bone meal
SRM
Specified risk material
TSE
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
UK
United Kingdom
USDA
U.S. Department of Agriculture
vCJD
Variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease

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CRS-3
Chronology
Early BSE Developments (November 1986-December 2002)
When BSE was first identified in 1986 in a British laboratory, relatively little
was known about its character, its cause, or how to contain it. The United Kingdom
(UK) has so far been the hardest-hit region, where reported cases affecting cattle
continued to climb through the late 1980s and early 1990s to a peak of more than
37,000 in 1992. Cases have been declining each year since then. Several other
countries, primarily in other parts of Europe, also reported hundreds of additional
cases, according to the world animal health organization (OIE, its French acronym).
As the UK and other countries were coping with BSE, the U.S. and Canadian
governments were establishing panels to study the disease and instituting a series of
safeguards aimed at keeping it out of North America or stopping any spread if it
should occur here. Prior to 2003, the only known case of BSE in North America was
in Canada, where a non-native case was discovered in late 1993. This animal is
believed to have been born in and imported from Great Britain in 1987.
November 1986
BSE is first identified by a British laboratory. BSE becomes
a reportable disease in the United States.
1987
A BSE-infected cow is believed to have been imported
into Canada from Great Britain.
December 15, 1987
Initial British epidemiological studies conclude that feeding
of ruminant-derived meat and bone meal (MBM) is the “only
viable hypothesis” for the cause of BSE.
1988
USDA establishes a BSE committee to review current
science and recommend appropriate regulatory controls.
July 7, 1988
The British Government announces that all cattle at risk of
BSE will be destroyed — a number eventually reaching 3.7
million. Approximately 183,000 of these are confirmed as
BSE-positive. Worldwide, about 4,000 additional BSE cases
have since been diagnosed, mostly in Europe.
July 1989
USDA bans importation of live ruminants (cattle, sheep,
goats, etc.) from the UK and other countries affected with
BSE.
July 18, 1989
A UK ban on feeding meat and bone meal (MBM) to
ruminants comes into force.
November 1989
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) implements an emergency ban on the importation
of high-risk products including MBM from countries with
confirmed BSE cases.
November 13, 1989
England and Wales ban human consumption of certain
bovine parts including brain, spinal cord, thymus, spleen,
and tonsils.

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CRS-4
1990
APHIS develops a BSE response plan intended to spell out
step-by-step actions in case BSE is detected in the United
States. FDA establishes a BSE task force.
May 1990
USDA initiates a surveillance program to examine brains of
U.S. cattle for BSE.
1991
USDA conducts a BSE risk analysis, finding that conditions
in the United States and UK differ regarding sheep rendered.
(The disease may have jumped to cattle consuming sheep
tissue containing Scrapie, another transmissible spongiform
encephalopathy, or TSE.) This risk analysis would be
updated several times in subsequent years.
December 6, 1991
USDA restricts the importation of ruminant meat and edible
products and bans most byproducts of ruminant origin from
countries known to have BSE; previously such products had
been prohibited by not issuing import permits (see
November 1989).
April 30, 1993
Surveillance is expanded to include random examination of
brains from nonambulatory (“downer”) cattle. (The target
population already had included field cases of cattle
exhibiting signs of neurologic disease, cattle condemned at
slaughter for neurologic reasons, rabies-negative cattle
submitted to public health laboratories, and neurologic cases
submitted to veterinary diagnostic laboratories and teaching
hospitals.)
December 1993
Canada reports its first BSE case; animal was not born in
Canada but rather imported in 1987 from Great Britain.
August 29, 1994
FDA advises manufacturers of vaccines and other biologics
not to use materials derived from cattle that were born,
raised, or slaughtered in countries where BSE is known to
exist.
March 1996
British authorities first announce a suspected causal link
between BSE and a new form of a rare, fatal human illness,
variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (vCJD), via consumption
of beef from affected animals. Eventually about 150 vCJD
cases occur, most of them in Great Britain.
March 29, 1996
The British Government imposes a total ban on the feeding
of any mammalian meat and bone meal to any farm animals.
March 1997
A Black Angus cow, which later becomes the first native
North American animal to test positive for BSE, is born on
a Saskatchewan farm.
April 9, 1997
A Holstein cow is born on a farm in Calmar, Alberta,
Canada. Om December 2003, it would test positive for BSE
in Washington State, becoming the first U.S. case.
June 5, 1997
FDA publishes a final rule, effective August 7, to prohibit

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the feeding of most mammalian proteins to ruminants.
Exempted from the ban are certain bovine by-products, such
as blood, milk, gelatin and restaurant plate waste, on the
premise that the exempted materials pose a minimal risk of
transmission.
August 4, 1997
Canada institutes its own mammalian-to-ruminant feed ban
(with the exception of pure porcine and equine meal; and
milk, blood, gelatin and rendered animal fat from all
species).
August 7, 1997
The U.S. FDA feed rule takes effect (see June 5, 1997).
December 12, 1997 USDA extends the ban on importation of live ruminants and
most ruminant products to cover all countries in Europe.
April 24, 1998
USDA enters into a cooperative agreement with the Harvard
University Center for Risk Analysis to evaluate the risk of
BSE and U.S. prevention methods.
December 7, 2000
USDA begins to prohibit all imports of rendered animal
protein products from Europe regardless of species, applying
to all products originating, rendered, processed, or otherwise
associated with European products.
September 2001
The Holstein cow (born in Alberta in March 1997 and which
would test positive for BSE in December 2003) is moved to
the United States along with 80 other cattle from the same
dairy.
September 10, 2001
Japan reports a case of BSE, the first in Asia. (By May
2005, Japan will have reported 18 BSE cases.)
September 18, 2001
Japan first bans the use of all ruminant MBM in cattle feed.
September 30, 2001
Total U.S. cattle tested for BSE in FY2001 is 5,272, all
negative.
October 4, 2001
Japan bans the use of animal protein products to be used in
feed products, including swine and poultry feed, as well as
in fertilizers.
October 18, 2001
Japan begins to test all cattle slaughtered for food for BSE.
November 30, 2001
USDA releases the Harvard risk analysis, a mathematical
model which indicates that the risk of BSE in the U.S. is
extremely low, that U.S. early protection measures have been
largely responsible for keeping it low, and that such
measures would minimize BSE’s spread if it did gain entry.
January 17, 2002
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
publishes in the Federal Register a Current Thinking Paper,
requesting comment on possible new regulatory and policy
actions such as whether to: designate such tissue as the
brains and spinal cords of cattle 24 months and older as
higher-risk material (SRMs) and thus ban them from human

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CRS-6
food; prohibit the use of vertebral column from
nonambulatory cattle and from those 24 months and older in
mechanical meat recovery systems, among other possible
regulation of such higher-risk tissues; and increase
enforcement and/or regulation of those who handle dead,
dying, disabled, or diseased livestock or their parts that die
other than by slaughter.
January 25, 2002
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issues
a report (GAO-02-183) criticizing the effectiveness of
FDA’s feed rules and enforcement.
August 23, 2002
A Black Angus cow born in Saskatchewan in March 1997 is
purchased with 35 other cows and calves by a cattle producer
in Wanham, Alberta. (It would test positive for BSE in May
2003.)
September 30, 2002
Total U.S. cattle tested for BSE in FY2002 is 19,990, all
negative.
November 6, 2002
FDA publishes an advance notice of proposed rulemaking,
stating that it is considering revising its feed regulation and
seeking comments on five relevant topics: excluding from
feed the brain and spinal cord from rendered animal
products; using poultry litter in cattle feed; using pet food in
ruminant feed; preventing cross-contamination; and
eliminating the exemption for plate waste as a feed
ingredient.
December 2, 2002
FSIS issues a directive instructing inspectors at beef
establishments using vertebral columns as source materials
in advanced meat recovery (AMR) systems to take routine
regulatory samples to verify that spinal cord is not present in
AMR product. If spinal cord tissue is present, then the
product does not meet FSIS labeling and inspection
requirements for meat.
Developments Following First Reported Canadian Case
(January-November 2003)
The first native-born case of BSE in North America was confirmed in a cow in
Alberta, Canada, in May 2003. The United States almost immediately halted the
importation of virtually all ruminants and ruminant products, including live cattle and
beef, from Canada. (An interim final rule was published in the May 29, 2003,
Federal Register, retroactive to May 20, 2003.) In August 2003, the U.S. Secretary
of Agriculture announced that the U.S. border would reopen to boneless beef from
cattle under 30 months old and other items considered to be of low risk for BSE.
Rather than issuing a proposed or interim rule, USDA claimed authority to do so
under a standing veterinary import permitting process.

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USDA on November 4, 2003, proposed for comment a more extensive rule
change that essentially would formalize and expand imports from Canada, to include
among other things live cattle under 30 months old.
January 2003
A federal interagency working group led by USDA, in
response to a legislative mandate (in P.L. 107-9) provides
information on the economic impacts and public health risks
if BSE or related diseases (and an unrelated disease, Foot
and Mouth Disease) were introduced into the United States,
and information on federal prevention efforts and sufficiency
of current legislative authority. The working group
recommends a number of policy changes such as
strengthening FDA authority to enforce its animal feed
regulation and to control entry of imports that may risk
bringing TSEs into the United States; an extended
commitment of budgetary resources; and better interagency
coordination, among other things.
January 21, 2003
In an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, APHIS solicits
public comment to develop approaches to control the risk
that dead stock and nonambulatory animals could serve as
potential pathways for the spread of BSE, if that disease
should ever be introduced into the United States. Comments
were taken until March 24, 2003.
January 31, 2003
The Black Angus beef cow born in Saskatchewan in 1997,
and now in Wanham, Alberta, shows signs of illness and is
presented for slaughter. A government inspector declares it
unfit for human food. Its head is frozen at a provincial
laboratory for later routine testing, and its remains go for
rendering into feed. It would later test positive for BSE.
February 20, 2003
The FY2003 omnibus appropriations act (P.L. 108-7) is
signed into law, containing funding for USDA that includes
$8 million for increased BSE surveillance and laboratory
activities; FDA is reported to receive a total of $19 million
for the fiscal year.
March 3, 2003
FSIS releases the results of the AMR survey it conducted in
2002; they show that approximately 35% of final product
samples had “unacceptable” central nervous system tissue
detected. It also announces the start of the regulatory
sampling program (issued as a directive in December 2002)
to ensure beef products derived from AMR systems are
accurately labeled.
May 20, 2003
BSE is confirmed in the Canadian Black Angus cow,
becoming the first native case reported in North America.
May 29, 2003
APHIS publishes an interim rule (retroactive to May 20,
2003) adding Canada to list of regions where BSE exists,

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prohibiting or restricting the importation of meat, meat
products, and other products/byproducts of ruminants from
Canada. Officials subsequently ask Harvard to reassess its
BSE risk model.
June 26, 2003
Canada releases the report of an international review team
(IRT) of BSE experts, which concludes that the most likely
source of BSE would have been consumption of feed
containing MBM of ruminant origin contaminated with the
BSE prion before the US and Canada implemented a feed
ban in August 1997. The original source of the BSE prion in
MBM is likely to have been from a limited number of cattle
imported directly into either Canada or the US from the UK
in the 1980s, and it is likely that some of these animals were
slaughtered or died and entered the animal feed system prior
to a [Canadian] ban on further importations from the UK in
1990, the IRT reported. The team recommends a number of
actions, including an immediate ban on SRMs (e.g., brain
and spinal cord) believed to constitute a greater risk of
disease, a review of animal feed regulations, strengthened
tracking and tracing systems, and improved testing.
July 18, 2003
Canada announces a requirement that, effective August 23,
2003, SRMs must be removed from cattle destined for
human food. SRMs are defined as including the skulls,
brains, eyes, tonsils, and spinal cords of all cattle over 30
months, and the distal ileum (part of the small intestines) of
all cattle.
August 8, 2003
The Secretary of Agriculture announces that, after a
“thorough scientific analysis,” the Department will begin
accepting applications for import permits for certain “low
risk” ruminant derived products from Canada. USDA said
it will no longer prohibit importation of wild ruminant
products intended for personal use (immediate), and will
begin to accept applications for import permits for certain
commercial products, including:
! boneless sheep/goat meat from animals
under 12 months;
! boneless bovine meat from animals under
30 months;
! boneless veal from calves under 36 weeks;
! fresh or frozen bovine liver;
! vaccines for veterinary medicine if for
non-ruminants;
! certain pet products and feed ingredients.
August 15, 2003
USDA posts an amended list of allowable Canadian products
on its website as a clarification of the August 8
announcement. The list now includes “trim” from beef from

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CRS-9
cattle under 30 months of age and veal (including carcasses)
from calves 36 weeks of age or under. Permit applications
are subsequently submitted to APHIS for processed product
made from allowable product. APHIS determines that
processed product from trim and boneless beef from cattle
under 30 months of age would be allowed, since processing
would not increase the risk associated with the products.
August 23, 2003
The Canada SRM rule (see July 18, 2003) takes effect.
August 25, 2003
FSIS issues a revised directive intended to strengthen
enforcement of measures to ensure that AMR systems do not
introduce spinal cord into meat products. The directive notes
that “Based on the first several months of regulatory ...
sampling, FSIS has determined that some establishments are
not adequately addressing the presence of spinal tissue in
boneless comminuted [i.e., pulverized] beef.”
August 27, 2003
APHIS issues the first permit for the importation of approved
ground product from Canada. Subsequent permits allow the
entry of other processed meat from cattle under 30 months of
age, such as hot dogs, pepperoni pizza toppings, hamburger
patties, smoked briskets, dry cured beef cuts, and soups and
TV dinners containing beef.
September 4, 2003
The first Canadian veal imports reportedly resume.
September 11, 2003
USDA reports this as the day that the first Canadian beef
imports resume.
September 30, 2003
Total U.S. cattle tested for BSE in FY2003 is 20,543, all
negative.
October 3, 2003
APHIS expands the list of Canadian products permitted for
entry into the United States to include processed products
containing otherwise eligible beef (e.g., roast beef, ground
beef, lasagna, frozen hamburger patties).
October 22, 2003
APHIS again expands the list of Canadian products
permitted for entry into the United States to include edible
beef lips, tongues, hearts, and kidneys.
October 31, 2003
USDA releases the findings of a second Harvard assessment
of BSE risk since the Canada case. The report notes that a
group of cattle imported into Canada from the UK in 1993
included one that was found to have BSE, and that if other
animals in this group harbored the disease, and were
slaughtered and rendered, infectivity may have been
introduced into the Canadian and U.S. cattle feed supplies
before the 1997 feed ban was implemented in both countries.
Harvard observed that “Although the possible introduction
of BSE into the U.S. from Canada cannot be dismissed,” the

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likelihood is very low, and U.S. protective measures by now
would have contained any possible spread.
USDA also announces it will publish a proposed rule (see
November 4, 2003) to amend its BSE regulations.
November 4, 2003
USDA publishes a proposed rule in the Federal Register that
would amend its BSE regulations to establish a new category
of regions that recognizes those that present a minimal risk
of introducing BSE into the United States via the importation
of certain low-risk live ruminants and ruminant products.
(The rule, which is initially open for comments until January
5, 2004, will form the basis for the final rule that eventually
will be published on January 4, 2005.) The proposed rule
would add Canada to that risk category and would allow
entry of certain commodities, including:
! bovine animals for immediate or subsequent
slaughter (under 30 months);
! sheep/goats for immediate or subsequent
slaughter (under 12 months);
! cervids (e.g., deer and elk) for immediate
slaughter;
! fresh (chilled or frozen) meat and
whole/half carcasses from bovines less than
30 months;
! fresh (chilled or frozen) bovine liver;
! fresh meat of sheep.
November 25, 2003
APHIS decides to allow Canadian facilities that receive and
process bone-in beef from the United States, New Zealand,
and Australia to export it to the United States.
Developments Following First Reported U.S. Case
(December 2003-December 2004)
At the time that USDA was accepting comments on the November 4, 2003,
proposed rule, tests on a cow in Mabton, Washington, indicated the presence of the
BSE agent. Confirmatory testing affirmed BSE, and the U.S. Secretary of
Agriculture reported the findings on December 23, 2003. This became the first
reported U.S. case, although investigators quickly determined that the animal was not
native but rather was born in and imported from Canada. Nonetheless, most foreign
countries closed their borders to U.S. beef.
The Secretary attempted to reassure the public that the case posed little or no
risk to public health. Shortly after, U.S. authorities announced a series of regulatory
changes aimed at strengthening BSE safeguards in meat slaughter plants; asked an
international scientific panel to review the situation and the U.S. response; greatly
expanded BSE testing and surveillance; and took other actions in response.
Meanwhile, in the spring of 2004 a cattlemen’s group successfully sued USDA to
halt any further expansion of Canadian beef imports in a federal court. USDA then

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agreed to limit such beef imports to the types it began permitting in August 2003,
until it promulgated a rule finalizing its November 4, 2003, proposal.
The enhanced BSE surveillance program began in earnest in June 2004; initial
screening tests reported three possibly positive cases during the year (which USDA
termed “inconclusives”) that later were deemed to be negative for BSE. Nonetheless,
cattle and beef markets reacted nervously to the reports; USDA was challenged
sharply on the adequacy of their design and conduct of the testing program and how
results were being reported prior to final confirmation. At FDA, where officials had
promised early in 2004 to revise their animal feed rules to tighten controls over
possible BSE contamination, deliberations over the rules continued through the end
of the year.
Some countries, notably Canada and Mexico, were again accepting some U.S.
beef in 2004, as were several smaller country markets. But Japan and South Korea,
the other top two destinations for U.S. beef, remained closed, despite what appeared
to be a hopeful joint announcement in October 2004 by the United States and Japan
of a “framework” agreement for restarting U.S. exports there.
December 9, 2003
The Holstein cow that was born in March 1997 in Alberta,
Canada, arrives at Verns Moses Lake Meats slaughter plant
in Washington State from a dairy in Mabton, Washington.
The cow was reportedly nonambulatory, which was believed
to be the result of complications from calving.
December 11, 2003
Samples from the Washington State Holstein cow arrive at
the Ames, Iowa, laboratories. Because the animal had no
neurological signs at slaughter, it is not considered to be a
higher priority for BSE and the samples are placed in the
normal queue for testing. On the same day, products (mainly
ground beef) that later would be subject to recall are shipped
to outlets, mainly restaurants and grocery stores.
December 22, 2003
Preliminary tests of the Holstein dairy cow in Washington
are positive for BSE.
December 23, 2003
The Secretary of Agriculture announces a presumptive
positive case of BSE in the Holstein cow (hereinafter
referred to as the “index” cow). APHIS quarantines the
Mabton, Washington, herd where the cow had been, and
begins its epidemiological investigations.
December 23, 2003
FSIS announces a Class II recall of 10,410 pounds of meat
from the group of 20 animals slaughtered with the BSE cow
on December 9, 2003, at Verns Moses Lake Meats.
December 24, 2003 Foreign countries begin to ban imports of U.S. ruminants and
ruminant products, including Japan, Mexico, South Korea,
and Canada, which account for 90% of U.S. beef exports.
(Canada however remains open to some lower-risk U.S.
beef.)

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December 29, 2003
FSIS determines that the recalled meat products were
distributed to 42 locations from Interstate Meats and
Willamette Valley Meats, with at least 80% of the products
distributed to stores in Oregon and Washington.
December 30, 2003
The Secretary of Agriculture announces additional
safeguards, primarily in slaughter plants, to bolster the U.S.
protection system against BSE and to further protect public
health. These and several other regulatory changes will be
published in the January 12, 2004, Federal Register (see
below for details). The Secretary also announces that a
verifiable system of national animal identification will be
expedited, and that BSE testing will be expanded.
December 31, 2003
The Secretary of Agriculture names an international review
team of BSE experts (IRT, similar to the group that
conducted such a review in Canada) to review USDA’s BSE
investigation and make national recommendations.
January 5, 2004
Initial closing date for public comments on the November 4,
2003, proposed rule on Canada cattle and beef imports (see
above). This comment period will later be reopened.
January 12, 2004
The Secretary of Agriculture publishes a “declaration of
extraordinary emergency” in the Federal Register, which
“authorizes the Secretary to (1) hold, seize, treat, apply other
remedial actions to, destroy (including preventative
slaughter), or otherwise dispose of, any animal, article,
facility, or means of conveyance if the Secretary determines
the action is necessary to prevent the dissemination of BSE
and (2) prohibit or restrict the movement or use within the
State of Washington, or any portion of the State of
Washington, of any animal or article, means of conveyance,
or facility if the Secretary determines that the prohibition or
restriction is necessary to prevent the dissemination of BSE.”
January 12, 2004
FSIS also publishes several BSE-related actions in the
Federal Register (many were announced December 30,
2003):
! An interim final rule declaring that the skull,
brain, eyes, vertebral column, spinal cord,
and certain other parts of cattle 30 months
of age or older, and the distal ileum of the
small intestine of all cattle, are considered
“specified risk materials” (SRM) and are
prohibited in the human food supply.
(Tonsils from all cattle were already
prohibited.)
! The above rule also requires that all
non-ambulatory (disabled) cattle presented
for slaughter be condemned.

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CRS-13
! An interim final rule articulating the criteria
that the agency would use to ensure that
AMR products can be represented as “meat”
products and thus are not adulterated or
misbranded (i.e., do not contain central
nervous system tissues).
! An interim final rule prohibiting the use of
penetrative captive bolt stunning devices
that deliberately inject air into the cranial
cavity of cattle (known as “air injection
stunning”).
! A notice announcing that FSIS inspectors
will not mark ambulatory cattle that have
been targeted for BSE surveillance testing as
“inspected and passed” until negative test
results are obtained.
January 21, 2004
The House Agriculture Committee holds the first
congressional oversight hearing on the U.S. BSE crisis.
January 26, 2004
The Secretary of Health and Human Services announces
coming changes in FDA feed rules (expected to be published
within two months but which had not appeared as of late
May 2005), which he says will:
! Eliminate the exemption that allows
mammalian blood and blood products to be
fed to other ruminants as a protein source;
! Ban the use in ruminant feed of “poultry
litter,”which consists of bedding, spilled
feed, feathers, and fecal matter;
! Ban the use in ruminant feed of “plate
waste,” which consists of uneaten meat and
other meat scraps that collected from
restaurant operations and rendered into meat
and bone meal;
! Further minimize the possibility of
cross-contamination of ruminant and
non-ruminant animal feed by requiring
equipment, facilities or production lines to
be dedicated to non-ruminant animal feeds
if they use protein that is prohibited in
ruminant feed.
January 27, 2004
The Senate Agriculture Committee holds an oversight
hearing on the BSE situation.
January 29, 2004
Agriculture Secretary Veneman announces that President
Bush’s FY2005 budget for USDA will include a $60 million
request, or an increase of $47 million, to fund multi-agency
efforts to enhance USDA’s BSE prevention program.

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CRS-14
February 4, 2004
USDA releases findings of the international panel of BSE
experts (the IRT). The IRT observes that although the
infected U.S. animal may be the only one from the 81-cow
herd that survived to adulthood, and its birth cohorts “do not
represent significant risk ... it is probable that other infected
animals have been imported from Canada and possibly also
from Europe. These animals have not been detected and
therefore infective material has likely been rendered, fed to
cattle, and amplified with the cattle population, so that cattle
in the USA have also been indigenously infected.” The IRT
also states that:
! Testing of all cattle for human consumption
is “unjustified,” but an intensive one-time
surveillance effort to determine the extent,
if any, of U.S. BSE, and that testing a
random sample of healthy cattle over 30
months “should be strongly considered;”
! The U.S. epidemiological investigation and
the tracing and recall of meat and
byproducts had conformed to international
standards insofar as possible, but that
implementation of an “appropriate” national
ID system is needed;
! Because downers are now being banned
from the food supply, “it is imperative” for
USDA to ensure that dead and
non-ambulatory cattle are properly sampled
and disposed of;
! The United States should consider
excluding all SRMs from both human and
animal foods, including pet food, and unless
“aggressive surveillance” proves the U.S.
BSE risk to be minimal according to
international standards, the SRM definition
should be expanded to include the brain,
spinal cord, skull, and vertebral column of
all cattle over 12 months, and the entire
intestine from all cattle;
! The partial ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban
now in place is “insufficient.” A complete
ban on the feeding of all mammalian and
poultry byproducts to cows and other
ruminants is justified due to the “practical
difficulties of enforcement” and “... to the
issues of cross-contamination as well as the
current problems in differentiating
mammalian and avian MBM.”
February 9, 2004
An “FSIS Update of Recall Activities” states that the total

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CRS-15
amount of meat distributed that was subject to recall had
been expanded to approximately 38,000 pounds affecting
578 establishments.
February 9, 2004
APHIS also announces that the field investigation of the case
of BSE in a cow in the State of Washington is complete,
with the following results:
! The epidemiological tracing and DNA
evidence proved that the BSE positive cow
slaughtered in the State of Washington on
December 9, 2003, was born on a dairy farm
in Calmar, Alberta, Canada, on April 9,
1997.
! The epidemiological investigation to find
additional animals from the source herd led
to a total of 189 investigations, leading to
complete herd inventories of 75,000 animals
on 51 premises in Washington, Oregon and
Idaho. The inventories involved the
examination of the identification on more
than 75,000 animals.
! A total of 255 “animals of interest” (those
that could have been from the source herd in
Alberta) were identified on 10 premises in
Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. All 255
were depopulated, and BSE testing was
negative for all. The carcasses from all of
the euthanized animals were properly
disposed of in landfills. These 255 are in
addition to the 449 animals slaughtered
from the bull calf operation — bringing total
slaughtered for BSE investigatory purposes
to 674 cattle.
! Of the 255 animals of interest, 28 were
positively identified back to the group of 80
cattle that entered the United States with the
index cow, as well as seven heifers out of a
group of 17 heifers which were also known
to be from the source herd. It is not
believed that all of these 17 entered the
United States, but all of them would be
considered minimal risk and not significant
to the investigation.
! International BSE guidelines state that
animals born on a premises within one year
before or after a BSE-affected animal should
be considered of greater risk. USDA has
focused on 25 of the 81 animals also born
into the birth herd of the index animal.

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CRS-16
Based on normal culling practices of local
dairies, APHIS estimated that the Agency
would be able to locate approximately 11 of
these animals. APHIS definitively located
13 of these animals, plus the index cow, for
a total of 14.
! USDA expressed confidence that the
remaining (unlocated) animals represent
very little risk.
! Over 2,000 tons of meat and bone meal
being held due to potential contamination
with protein from the positive cow is on
hold and will soon be properly disposed of
in a landfill.
! All 255 adult animals depopulated were
sampled and tested for BSE. The 449 bull
calves depopulated were not sampled
because they were too young for the BSE
agent to be detected.
February 23, 2004
USDA releases the response of its full animal disease
advisory committee to the subcommittee’s report, among
other things commending U.S. authorities for their handling
of the case. The full committee recommends that federal
officials ask the Harvard Center to review the subcommittee
report, particularly to resolve the “major discrepancy”
between the IRT’s finding that BSE continues to circulate
here and findings in the earlier Harvard University risk
assessment that appeared to be more qualified; and that
USDA enhance surveillance and implement more quickly an
animal ID program.
February 24, 2004
The Senate Appropriations Committee holds an oversight
hearing specifically on the BSE situation.
March 3, 2004
The Secretary of Agriculture announces that Mexico has
agreed to begin imports of some types of U.S. beef.
March 8, 2004
In light of the discovery of the first confirmed case of BSE
in the United States, APHIS reopens the comment period for
its November 2003 proposed rule (which, among other
things, proposed that Canada be identified as a “minimal
risk” region for BSE). Additional comments on the
proposed rule were due by April 7, 2004.
March 15, 2004
USDA announces an expanded surveillance effort for BSE
in the United States. Under the new program, to start on
June 1, 2004, and expected to continue for 12 to 18 months,
USDA says it wants to test as many as possible of a so-called
higher-risk group of cattle (i.e., those which are
nonambulatory, dead, or exhibiting signs of a central nervous

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CRS-17
system disorder or other BSE-associated signs). It estimates
this target population to number 446,000.
April 7, 2004
FSIS publishes a notice in the Federal Register requesting
comment on its preliminary regulatory impact analysis of the
three interim final rules issued by the agency on January 12,
2004. FSIS also extends the comment period on the January
12 rules to coincide with the close of the comment period for
the impact analysis (on May 7, 2004).
April 8, 2004
USDA denies the request of Creekstone Farms Premium
Beef, a smaller packing company with markets in Japan, to
test all of its cattle for BSE. USDA officials inform
Creekstone that BSE tests have only been licensed for animal
health “surveillance” purposes and “the test as proposed by
Creekstone would have implied a consumer safety aspect
that is not scientifically warranted.”
April 18, 2004
A joint U.S.-Japanese press release states that the two sides
will “actively engage in consultations” and “will respectively
pursue domestic discussions and make efforts so as to reach
a final conclusion by sometime around summer on the
resumption of the importation of both American and
Japanese beef.”
April 19, 2004
USDA publishes on its website a memorandum and a new
list of “Low Risk Canadian Products.” The new list of
“Low Risk Canadian Products” permits “bovine meat and
meat products including boneless, bone-in, ground meat, and
further processed bovine meat products.”
April 22, 2004
A cattle producer’s group (Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal
Fund-United Stockgrowers of America, or R-CALF USA)
files a lawsuit seeking federal judicial review of USDA’s
actions on Canadian beef imports.
April 23, 2004
Canada announces rule changes to permit a broader range of
meat and meat products to be imported from the United
States.
April 26, 2004
In response to the R-CALF USA lawsuit, a U.S. District
Judge in Montana issues a temporary restraining order
blocking the expansion of importable Canadian products in
the April 19 action. The judge specifically cites USDA
statements indicating that any actions beyond those taken in
August 2003 would be done through the rulemaking process.
May 5, 2004
The April 26 temporary restraining order is converted to a
stipulation that expires five days after the plaintiff (R-CALF
USA) is notified of final agency action on the November
2003 USDA rulemaking. While the stipulation is in effect,

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CRS-18
the only bovine meats that can be imported for human
consumption are fresh or frozen bovine liver, all veal from
calves 36 weeks of age or less, and fresh or frozen boneless
meat from animals under 30 months of age, including
trim/manufacturing trim derived from skeletal muscle with
associated tissues — but not including any ground meat, trim
derived from mechanical separation processes including
AMR or from vertebral columns (this is essentially the
August 15, 2003, APHIS list). Canadian Food Inspection
Agency (CFIA) verification that these products were subject
to risk mitigation measures in Canada also is required.
May 2004
Conflicting information circulates throughout the month as
to exactly what types and quantities of Canadian beef
products had been improperly allowed to enter since USDA
began to ease import restrictions. R-CALF USA asserts that
33 million pounds of processed beef, more than 3 million
pounds of bone-in beef, and 440,000 pounds of beef tongue
were imported improperly from September 2003 to April
2004. USDA’s Under Secretary for Food Safety states at a
press conference that what has come in from Canada that is
not part of what was made eligible in August 2003 totals
approximately 7.3 million pounds, and that all such products
came from animals that were younger than 30 months of age.
June 1, 2004
The enhanced BSE surveillance program reportedly begins.
Early in the month, APHIS begins to post on its website
weekly reports on test results.
July 9, 2004
USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) announce three actions to strengthen federal
safeguards against BSE: (1) a joint FSIS, APHIS, and FDA
advance notice of proposed rulemaking that asks for public
comment on additional preventive actions being considered;
(2) an interim final FDA rule that prohibits the use of certain
cattle-derived materials in human food (including dietary
supplements) and medicines; and (3) a proposed FDA rule
on recordkeeping requirements for the interim final rule
relating to this ban. Specifically, in the advance notice, FDA
asks the public to comment on measures related to animal
feed (e.g., removing SRM from all animal feed and
prohibiting materials from non-ambulatory cattle and dead
stock from use in all animal feed); APHIS asks for
comments on the implementation of a national animal
identification system; and FSIS seeks comments on whether
a country’s BSE status should be a factor when determining
whether its meat inspection system is equivalent to U.S.
regulations. The joint ANPR and FDA rules are published
in the July 14, 2004, Federal Register.

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CRS-19
July 14, 2004
The House Committee on Agriculture and the House
Committee on Government Reform conduct a joint hearing
to review USDA’s expanded BSE cattle surveillance
program. USDA’s Inspector General testifies on a draft OIG
report which cites a number of limitations in the
department’s expanded surveillance plan. The final OIG
report, issued in late August 2004, generally paralleled the
preliminary findings. USDA defends its testing program at
and after the hearing.
August 4, 2004
APHIS announces changes in how it will announce
inconclusive BSE tests, stating that it will not make such an
announcement unless two screening tests (rather than one
screening test) indicate other than a negative result for BSE.
The change is made after two announced inconclusive tests
caused market price disruptions earlier in the summer, even
though they later were found to be negative upon
confirmatory testing.
September 30, 2004
USDA is reported to have spent a total of $51 million for its
BSE-related activities for the fiscal year just ended, $44
million of it for surveillance and testing. FDA is reported to
have spent more than $21 million.
October 23, 2004
The United States and Japan announce jointly that they have
reached agreement on a framework for resuming two-way
beef trade. The joint statement includes the following
elements:
! Japanese beef would be permitted in the
United States following relevant U.S.
rulemaking procedures.
! The United States would establish, with
Japanese concurrence, an interim marketing
program [a modified version of the Beef
Export Verification (BEV) Program
established by USDA’s Agricultural
Marketing Service (AMS) in 2003] that
would enable a resumption of some U.S.
beef exports to Japan, by certifying that all
beef shipments are from cattle under 21
months old.
! The United States would expand its
definition of cattle parts having a higher risk
of harboring BSE. These “specified risk
materials” (SRM) would include — for
cattle of all ages — the entire head except
tongues and cheek meat; tonsils; spinal
cords; distal ileum; and part of the vertebral
column. This is broader than the current
U.S. SRM definition, which applies mainly

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CRS-20
to cattle over 30 months old.
! The two countries would evaluate this
interim marketing program by July 2005,
based in part on a scientific evaluation by
international health experts, and modify it if
appropriate.
November 18, 2004
USDA announces that a U.S.-born, nonambulatory cow is
“inconclusive” (possibly positive) for BSE in a screening
test. The carcass is destroyed to prevent its use in the food
or feed supply.
November 23, 2004
USDA announces that two confirmatory tests using the IHC
method (“an internationally-recognized gold standard test for
BSE,” according to officials) both are negative for the
disease. APHIS does not conduct a confirmatory “Western
blot” test, another internationally recognized method, nor
does it send the sample to the BSE World Reference
Laboratory in Weybridge, England, for further examination.
December 8, 2004
The President signs into law the FY2005 Consolidated
Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-447), which contains annual
funding for USDA, including its BSE activities. Including
funds it had transferred administratively from the
Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) earlier, USDA says
it will spend a total of $123 million on BSE-related activities
in FY2005, including $69 million for surveillance and
testing and $49 million for animal ID work. The measure
also contains nearly $30 million for FDA’s BSE activities.
December 29, 2004
USDA unveils a new APHIS final rule (1) establishing a
category of regions that present a minimal risk of introducing
BSE into the United States from live ruminants and ruminant
products, including the conditions that must be met to
qualify as a minimal-risk region; and (2) accepting Canada
as the first such region. The rule is published in the January
4, 2005, Federal Register, to take effect on March 7, 2005.
The rule explicitly permits imports of, among other things,
live Canadian cattle and other bovines for feeding and for
immediate slaughter.
December 31, 2004
According to USDA, 176,468 cattle are tested for BSE in
calendar (not fiscal) 2004, all negative for the disease. (A
total of 17,152 head had been tested in FY2004 through May
31, when the special 12-18-month surveillance program was
initiated.)

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CRS-21
Developments Following Second and Third Reported
Canadian Cases (January 2005-May 2005)
In early 2005, as USDA was unveiling its new rule for permitting Canadian
imports, Canada was announcing two additional discoveries of BSE. This brought
to four Canada’s reported native-born cases (including the one found in the United
States). U.S. officials expressed confidence in Canadian BSE safeguards but sent a
team to confirm that feed controls there were effective.
R-CALF USA again sued USDA to halt Canadian beef and live cattle imports,
winning a temporary injunction in early March 2005 against implementation of
USDA’s January 4, 2005, final rule. (The next section describes a higher court’s
reversal of this decision.) In Congress, the agriculture committees have held hearings
on the BSE situation. The Senate voted in early March 2005 to block the USDA
Canada rule, but necessary House action was not expected to occur.
Japan took several steps in 2005 toward lifting its ban on U.S. beef imports, but
its regulatory process and continued consumer resistance there could delay an
opening at least until later in 2005, many observers predicted.
January 2, 2005
CFIA reports that BSE has been confirmed in an Alberta
dairy cow born in October 1996, prior to the 1997 “feed ban”
on use of prohibited mammalian material. Canadian
officials say that preliminary testing first detected the
presence of the disease in December 2004. No part of the
animal entered the human food or animal feed supply, CFIA
states.
January 4, 2005
APHIS publishes the final version of its November 4, 2003,
proposed rule. In addition, because it is a “major” rule, it
cannot take effect for 60 days from publication in the
Federal Register or presentation to Congress (whichever is
later), as provided for in the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. This delay allows time
for Congress to review the rule; Congress also has the
option, for 60 legislative days, to pass a joint resolution
overturning the rule.
January 10, 2005
R-CALF USA files another lawsuit in the U.S. District Court
in Montana to halt implementation of the January 4 rule,
charging among other things that the rule is based on a faulty
risk assessment not supported by scientific evidence.
January 11, 2005
CFIA reports that BSE has been confirmed in an Alberta
beef cow born in March 1998, more than six months after
Canada had announced its ban on feeding ruminant material
back to ruminants. Canadian officials say they have
launched investigations to ascertain the whereabouts of any
other at-risk animals and to determine what the animal had
consumed. They speculate that the cow may have consumed

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CRS-22
BSE-contaminated feed that had been manufactured either
before the ban, or shortly afterward, before it had been fully
implemented.
January 31, 2005
R-CALF requests a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit
against USDA on the January 4 final rule.
February 3, 2005
The Senate Agriculture Committee holds an oversight
hearing on the Canada BSE situation, where Secretary of
Agriculture Johanns testifies that the Department intends to
implement the rule on March 7 as scheduled.
February 7, 2005
The Administration releases its FY2006 budget proposal,
which includes a request for $66 million for USDA’s BSE
activities and nearly $30 million for FDA’s BSE activities.
February 14, 2005
USDA’s OIG releases the results of its audit Oversight of the
Importation of Beef Products from Canada. OIG finds that
the Department’s actions were sometimes arbitrary and
undocumented, that policy decisions were poorly
communicated to the public and between APHIS and FSIS,
and that controls over the regulatory process were
inadequate. USDA generally agrees to implement
recommendations for improvement.
February 25, 2005
USDA releases its positive assessment of the effectiveness
of the Canadian ban on feeding most ruminant materials
back to ruminants.
February 25, 2005
GAO issues a report (GAO-05-101) concluding that FDA
had made improvements in its management of the U.S. feed
ban, but that program weaknesses continue to limit its
effectiveness, placing U.S. cattle at risk of spreading BSE.
March 1, 2005
The House Agriculture Committee holds a hearing on the
Canadian beef import rule, taking testimony from Secretary
Johanns, two cattle producer groups, and two meat packers.
March 2, 2005
The U.S. district court in Montana issues a preliminary
injunction to halt implementation of the January 4th rule and
orders attorneys for both USDA and R-CALF to develop a
proposed schedule for trial on the merits of whether a
permanent injunction should be granted.
March 3, 2005
The full Senate votes, 52-46, to approve a resolution (S.
J.Res. 4) providing for the disapproval of the January 4th
USDA rule. However, House passage and the President’s
signature are required for the resolution to take effect, neither
of which is considered a strong likelihood.
March 11, 2005
APHIS publishes a rule to delay until further notice the
applicability of its January 4th rule on minimal risk regions.

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CRS-23
March 17, 2005
USDA appeals the Montana U.S. district court judge’s ruling
to block the Canadian import rule to the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals.
April 29, 2005
APHIS releases a summary of its epidemiological review of
Canada’s BSE cases, reporting that Canada’s
epidemiological efforts have exceeded levels recommended
by an international team of BSE experts.
May 6, 2005
The Japanese Food Safety Commission (FSC) adopts a final
report recommending that cattle under 21 months of age
could be excluded from universal BSE testing, thus clearing
the way for the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and
Welfare (MHLW), and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and
Fisheries (MAFF) to begin promulgating changes in their
domestic BSE testing rules. (A public comment period is
scheduled for May 9 to June 9, 2005.)
May 26, 2005
The Japanese FSC initiates deliberations on the content of
consultations with the Japanese MHLW and MAFF on
conditions for resuming U.S. beef imports.
May 31, 2005
An expert subcommittee of the Japanese FSC begins
deliberations on U.S. imports.
Developments Following Second Reported U.S. Case
(Since June 2005)
At a time when Japan appeared to be taking new steps toward opening its border
to U.S. beef, USDA reported, in June 2005, the second U.S. case of BSE, but the first
to be confirmed in a native-born cow. The Texas animal initially had been sampled
for BSE in November 2004. Screening tests at that time came back inconclusive
(i.e., possibly positive) for the disease, but follow-up testing failed to confirm it,
USDA said in announcing a negative result. However, at OIG’s urging, department
scientists re-tested samples in June 2005, and the results were positive for BSE.
By early November 2005, USDA’s special testing program exceeded 500,000
cattle, and no additional instances of BSE were found. Japanese officials reported
additional movement toward a final decision on U.S. beef, but frustration over the
slow pace was mounting within the Administration, Congress, and industry.
Meanwhile, a federal appeals court in July 2005 overturned a district judge’s
injunction blocking USDA’s final rule to expand Canadian beef and cattle imports;
soon after, live cattle began to enter from Canada.
June 10, 2005
Agriculture Secretary Johanns announces the possibility of
BSE in sample material from a U.S.-born cow that in
November 2004 had tested negative for BSE. He adds that
samples from the cow are being retested and also being sent
to the BSE World Reference Laboratory in Weybridge,

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CRS-24
England, for further examination. The cow tested negative
for BSE last year after an initial screening had indicated an
“inconclusive” (i.e., possibly positive) result. The latest,
possibly positive, result, occurred using a different test
method (the so-called “Western blot,” which, like the IHC
method, also is OIE-recognized). The retest was conducted
by USDA scientists at the request of the Office of Inspector
General (OIG), not the Secretary.
June 24, 2005
The Secretary of Agriculture announces that more testing has
confirmed the presence of BSE in a brain sample first taken
from a U.S. beef cow in November 2004. This is the first
confirmed case of BSE in a U.S.-born animal. The World
Reference Laboratory in Weybridge, England, found after a
series of tests that all except one detected BSE, including
another IHC test. USDA and Weybridge officials explain
that the positive IHC test by Weybridge used a different
procedure than the one used in November 2004 by USDA at
Ames, and that IHC methods differ and do not perform
equally. USDA also reveals that a USDA laboratory had
actually found possible BSE in the animal in 2004 when it
applied an “experimental” version of the IHC test. But
USDA asserts that the laboratory did not report this result
because the test was not a proven one.
June 29, 2005
APHIS reports on its epidemiological investigation to
determine the BSE animal’s origin, movements, and herd
mates. Officials state that the cow in question was a 12-year-
old Brahma cross beef cow from a Texas farm, initially
reported to be nonambulatory. The animal was sampled at
a plant that renders dead, dying, diseased, or disabled
animals for non-human uses such as pet food, but this
animal’s remains never entered the food or feed chain and
were incinerated.
July 13, 2005
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
conducts a hearing on USDA’s appeal of the Montana
court’s preliminary injunction on the Canada import rule.
July 14, 2005
The appeals court rules to stay (reverse) the lower court’s
ban. The Secretary says the Department is taking immediate
steps to resume the importation of Canadian cattle under 30
months of age.
July 18, 2005
The first load of Canadian cattle since May 2003 reportedly
enters the United States.
July 25, 2005
The appeals court issues its opinion explaining reasons for
reversing the district court’s ban on the Canada import rule.
July 27, 2005
APHIS announces that a brain sample from an older cow

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CRS-25
taken in April but not tested until more recently produced a
“non-definitive” result using the IHC test, so more testing is
underway to determine whether BSE might be present.
August 1, 2005
Japan eases its rule requiring all cattle to be tested for BSE
regardless of age; now, only cattle over 20 months of age
must be tested. However, all local governments in Japan
reportedly continue to test all cattle. (A separate rule change
actually to permit U.S. beef imports is still under
consideration.)
August 3, 2005
APHIS reports that further tests of the suspicious cow tissue
(see July 27) are negative for BSE. Tests were conducted
both by APHIS and the international reference laboratory for
BSE at Weybridge, England.
August 18, 2005
APHIS publishes a proposed rule in the Federal Register to
permit the importation of whole cuts of boneless beef from
Japan, under specified conditions. The United States agreed
to initiate such rulemaking as part the October 2004 beef
trade framework with Japan.
August 30, 2005
USDA and FDA officials release final reports on their
epidemiological investigations of the Texas BSE case (i.e.,
U.S.-born BSE cow which tested positive in June 2005),
with the following results:
! The animal was a cream-colored Brahma
cross cow approximately 12 years old.
! The animal was sold through a livestock
sale in November 2004 and transported to a
packing plant, where it was dead on arrival.
It was then shipped to a pet food plant
where it was sampled for BSE. The carcass
was not used; it was destroyed in November
2004.
! Sixty-seven herd mates were destroyed and
tested for BSE, all negative. Of 200 adult
animals of interest determined to have left
the farm, APHIS officials concluded that
143 had gone to slaughter, two were found
alive (one was determined not to be of
interest because of its age and the other
tested negative), 34 were presumed dead,
one was known dead and 20 were classified
as untraceable.
! APHIS was looking for two calves born to
the index animal. Due to record keeping and
identification limitations, APHIS had to
trace 213 calves. Of these 213 calves, 208
entered feeding and slaughter channels, four

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CRS-26
were presumed to have entered feeding and
slaughter channels and one calf was
untraceable.
! FDA’s feed history investigation identified
21 feeds or feed supplements used on the
farm since 1990, which were purchased
from three retail feed stores and
manufactured at nine feed mills. No feed or
feed supplements used on the farm since
1997 were formulated to contain prohibited
mammalian protein. Due to this finding,
FDA has concluded that the animal was
most likely infected prior to the 1997
ruminant feed rule.
September 7, 2005
USDA and FDA each publish an interim rule in the Federal
Register altering their separate rules on SRM in meat
products, foods and cosmetics. This will permit companies,
beginning October 7, 2005, to remove only the distal ileum
of all cattle and to utilize the rest of the small intestine in
food or cosmetics. Previously, they were required to remove
the entire intestine to ensure that no distal ileum (the only
part considered SRM) remained.
September 20, 2005
By a vote of 72 to 26, the Senate on September 20, 2005,
approves an amendment to H.R. 2744, USDA’s FY2006
appropriation, which would bar USDA implementation of a
proposed rule enabling Japan to export beef to the United
States, unless Japan has opened its own markets for U.S.
beef and beef products. Conferees later remove this
provision from the final version (H.Rpt. 109-255).
September 30, 2005
USDA is reported to have spent an estimated $123 million
for its BSE-related activities in FY2005, of which $69
million was for BSE testing (and most of that for the special
surveillance program), $49 million to launch the animal ID
effort, and $3 million for research. The FDA reportedly
spends nearly $30 million on BSE in FY2005.
October 6, 2005
FDA publishes its long-awaited proposed rule to tighten
animal feed controls in the Federal Register. The proposal,
open for public comment until December 20, 2005, would
ban, from all types of animal feeds (including pet food), the
following materials that would be considered SRM:
! brains and spinal cords of cattle 30 months
of age and older;
! brains and spinal cords of any cattle,
regardless of age, if they were not inspected
and passed for human consumption;

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CRS-27
! the entire carcass of any cattle not so
inspected and passed if their brains and
spinal cords have not been removed;
! tallow from the above SRM if it contains
more than 0.15% soluble impurities;
! mechanically separated beef derived from
such SRM.
October 31, 2005
A subcommittee of Japan’s Food Safety Commission
finalizes a draft report generally agreeing that U.S. beef
which meets Japanese export requirements poses little more
risk than Japanese-processed beef.
November 2, 2005
The Japan FSC decides to clear the draft report for public
review and comment, for a period of approximately four
weeks. After that, the government can take final steps to
implement the U.S. beef import rule, officials there claim.
Postscript
At the time of this report, the Administration and many Members of Congress
were continue to focus on efforts to reopen more major foreign markets to U.S. beef,
notably Japan and Korea. At hearings and other venues, U.S. policymakers and
industry officials have expressed frustration with the pace of these efforts, and
several new measures (e.g., S. 1922/H.R. 4179) have been introduced to require
retaliatory tariffs on Japanese imports if Japan does not lift the U.S. beef ban by
December 15, 2005. Although Japan claims that recent action by a panel of its Food
Safety Committee has brought the process closer to fruition, some in the United
States remain skeptical that any U.S. beef will be eligible for export before early
2006.
After 74 weeks of intensive surveillance, including more than 510,000 tests of
higher-risk cattle, only one U.S.-born BSE case has been confirmed, according to
USDA. The USDA also says it is beginning to test the 20,000 older adult cattle from
the apparently healthy population, which it said in spring 2004 that it had intended
to do.
USDA and industry officials have long argued that the overall U.S. risk profile
is unchanged. They had long warned that one or even several additional BSE-
positive cattle might be found. However, officials have repeatedly attempted to
reassure consumers and foreign buyers that U.S. cattle and beef are safe and pose no
risk to animal health or to human food safety (although research into the disease and
the TSE family of diseases, and consideration of additional regulatory safeguards,
continues). Nevertheless, few observers have expected the trade and economic issues
to be resolved quickly. Even after U.S. beef becomes eligible for Japanese
importation, the industry faces the difficult task of both meeting restrictive Japanese
requirements, and then regaining the market share there that other countries, notably
Australia, have since captured.

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CRS-28
USDA’s efforts to expand more ruminant trade between the United States and
Canada bore fruit in July 2005. A group of U.S. cattlemen who wanted to keep the
U.S. border closed to cattle from Canada until all of their scientific and other
concerns were adequately addressed had initially won a court-ordered delay in
implementation of the Canada rule; that delay was reversed in July by an appeals
panel. So, Canadian cattle are again entering the United States. The next steps are
likely to be consideration of the meat industry’s requests to permit older as well as
younger Canadian cattle across the border.
Meanwhile, Congress can be expected to play a continued role, holding
oversight hearings, providing funding for BSE-related activities, and possibly
considering legislative options to address one or more of the problems at hand.

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