FDA announced new measures to help protect consumers against mad cow disease.

More mad cow protection

FDA announced new measures to help protect consumers against the agent thought to cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. The agency may amend its animal feed regulations to prohibit certain high-risk cattle materials that can potentially carry the BSE-infectious agent. Most of the proposed prohibitions have already applied to cattle feed since 1997. "These additional measures will make an already small risk even smaller," said Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach.

Just the facts on FTA

There was a bitter fight in Congress last summer over passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement-Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR), but the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) says the latest trade deficit numbers show it was right for lawmakers to approve it. While the overall US trade deficit in manufactured goods has worsened this year, a NAM report says the deficit with countries where the US has free trade agreements has markedly improved.

"It's time for those who opposed CAFTA, NAFTA and other FTAs to move past raw emotion and politics for a closer look at the facts," said NAM President John Engler. "The facts show that free trade agreements are good for our trade balance, and that our economy stands to benefit from more of them as quickly as they can be negotiated."