Better safe than mad

Better safe than sorry when it comes to mad-cow disease.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture should hold off on its plan to permit, beginning today, imports of older Canadian cattle even as Canada continues to find cases of the disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

At the very least, Congress should require imported cattle to be marked with their country of origin, so domestic product won't be burdened with the same suspicions. The American beef industry still struggles to regain trust from foreign customers that U.S. beef is safe from mad-cow disease.

Almost four years ago, Washington state was the Ground Zero Corral for an international panic that cost domestic meat producers dearly. After the first U.S. case of mad-cow disease was found in Mabton, foreign markets closed, and U.S. beef imports declined by 81 percent almost immediately. That first sick cow was born in Canada.

Imports of Canadian cattle under 30 months of age — considered to be at much lower risk for the disease — are permitted. But under the new rule, Canadian cattle as old as 8 years could be imported. The rule is based on when Canada banned the use of bonemeal and meat from other cud-chewing animals in feed for cattle — March 1, 1999.

The hitch is that of seven new Canadian cases discovered since early 2006, five were found in cattle born after the ban was implemented.

Washington Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell wrote to the Agriculture Department urging them to hold off on implementation of the import rules — but as of Friday had received no response. And a lawsuit by cattle producers and consumer groups is pending in U.S. District Court in South Dakota.

This relaxed rule is hard to defend, considering Canada's ongoing problems and the challenges facing U.S. producers trying to calm skittish foreign customers.

Consumer groups complain that USDA has not implemented a number of promised measures, including more closely tracking cattle.