A final test was likely to confirm a second U.S. case of mad cow disease, as this issue of Dairy Foods went to press. This is according to a Reuters report after two laboratory tests of tissue from a suspect animal yielded inconclusive results.

On November 18, USDA stressed that the animal, whether it was infected or not, had not entered the food chain. The agency did say that the animal had tested positive for prions three times with a less conclusive rapid testing system.

Experts said they saw only a small possibility that subsequent, more conclusive tests results, which were expected about a week later, would be negative.