No, the USDA prohibited testing. The reason they offered for prohibiting the testing was purportedly their concern for false safety claims. They didn't merely prohibit what they consider to be misleading claims, they used their regulatory power to block the testing.
>It asked the USDA for permission to buy test kits from a California company that made the equipment in France. However, under the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act, the government can regulate the manufacturing and sale of “any virus, serum, toxin, or analogous product for use in the treatment of domestic animals.”
The USDA deemed the “rapid BSE test” a “treatment” under the Act and banned Creekstone from buying test kits from Bio-Rad.
>It asked the USDA for permission to buy test kits from a California company that made the equipment in France. However, under the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act, the government can regulate the manufacturing and sale of “any virus, serum, toxin, or analogous product for use in the treatment of domestic animals.” The USDA deemed the “rapid BSE test” a “treatment” under the Act and banned Creekstone from buying test kits from Bio-Rad.
https://www.courthousenews.com/usda-can-block-testing-for-ma...