WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Agriculture Departmentis within bounds to bar meatpackers from testing slaughter cattlefor mad cow disease, a U.S. Court of Appeals panel said in a 2-1ruling on Friday.

Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC, a small Arkansas packer,filed suit on March 23, 2006, to gain access to mad-cow test kits.It said it wanted to test every animal at its plant to assureforeign buyers that the meat was safe to eat.

Three U.S. cases of mad cow disease, a fatal neurologicalinfection, have been reported, the last in March 2006. People cancontract a human version of the disease by eating infected meats.Most nations banned U.S. beef after the first case, in December2003, but trade has been restored for the most part.

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