JAPAN is trying to blame its latest case of mad cow disease on Italy. In October, researchers in Italy reported finding two BSE-infected cows whose test results revealed a slightly unusual balance of the different forms of the prion protein that causes the disease. Japan’s eighth and latest case also gave an unusual test result.
The finding prompted Takashi Onodera of the University of Tokyo, head of the Japanese government’s BSE panel, to tell journalists that meat and bonemeal imported from Italy might have caused the Japanese case. His claims have been widely reported.
But some experts say there is…
