Mad Cow Rule Violations Cited

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.

The department released the information in response to requests made by several groups under the federal Freedom of Information Act. One of the groups, Public Citizen, said the records showed serious problems in enforcing the rules. For example, there were mistakes in identifying animals' ages, which affected whether at-risk tissues were removed.

Removal of nerve tissues is important but does not guarantee the safety of the food supply, said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union.

The violations "demonstrate a remarkable level of compliance with federal regulations exceeding 99.9 percent," said James H. Hodges, president of the meatpacking industry's American Meat Institute Foundation.