Fraud Probe Into U.S. Mad Cow Case

The government has begun a criminal investigation into whether records have been falsified in the nation’s only case of mad cow disease, the Agriculture Department’s inspector general said.

The inspector general, Phyllis Fong, told a House subcommittee the probe focuses on whether the infected cow truly was a “downer” unable to stand or walk when it was slaughtered Dec. 9 in Moses Lake, Wash.

Agriculture officials who monitor meat plants say they target only “downer” cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy testing. Critics say there are credibility concerns and a need to test healthy animals as well.