Prepared Foods August 8, 2005 enewsletter

A cow suspected of having Mad Cow Disease has tested negative for the brain-wasting ailment, the Agriculture Department said.

Testing by the department's laboratory in Ames, Iowa, and the internationally recognized laboratory in Weybridge, England, came back negative, said John Clifford, the department's chief veterinarian.

"Needless to say, we are very pleased with these results," Clifford said in a statement. "I do want to emphasize that the most important protections for human and animal health are our interlocking food-safety protocols."

The department ordered additional testing after initial results indicated the disease may have been present in the cow. Officials called those results "non-definitive" and said they did not resemble normal samples in which Mad Cow Disease is present.