British blood products may pose vCJD risk in 14 countries (Guardian Unlimited) The government has been forced to warn 14 countries that patients are in danger of developing the human form of mad cow disease as a result of contaminated British blood products sold abroad. [News Source]

USDA closes probe into Alabama BSE case (CIDRAP) May 8, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – US officials have closed the investigation into the nation's latest case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, without finding the infected cow's origins. [News Source]

Canada ends search for cattle in mad cow case (Reuters via Yahoo! News) The search for cattle connected by birth or sources of feed with Canada's latest mad cow case has ended and all tests so far have been negative, officials said on Monday. [News Source]

Court clears government of BSE failures (NZZ) The Federal Court has thrown out a call for financial compensation by more than 2,000 Swiss farmers for losses incurred during the crisis over mad cow disease. [News Source]

Sick Americans: Brits are healthier, and we think we know why. Though the United States spends more than twice as much per person as Britain for health care, older Americans are much sicker than older Brits. [News Source]

State facing higher meat inspection costs. The federal government, which hires state inspectors to do some federal reviews, recently alerted his office that it will cut $44,000 from the amount it gives Vermont over the next few months. [News Source]

The French raise a glass as Scotch beef returns after ban. A Renaissance château in Normandy treated its guests to the first Scotch beef to come to France since a decade-long export ban on British beef was lifted last week. [News Source]

Bill seeks details on recalled meat. Health officials want Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to untie the gag that prevents them from telling consumers which stores and restaurants sold meat and poultry that was recalled by distributors. [News Source]

Wrongly blaming the FDA. If we keep failing the FDA, and the FDA in turn fails, it's inevitable that our luck will run out. [News Source]