While no such database currently exists, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has since 2004 been sponsoring a National Animal Identification System (NAIS) project in response to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. The USDA intended for NAIS to streamline the tracking of cattle and other animals infected with diseases, allowing an animal's place of origin to be traced within 48 hours. When specifications for the NAIS were initially drafted, the USDA envisioned a target date of 2008 for mandatory compliance by the agribusiness industry.

However, the system's adoption has been slowed by cultural and technological hurdles among ranchers and meat producers. Different industry groups have come up with varying approaches based on their own systems, and there continue to be questions about whether the NAIS should be privately funded or paid for by the government.

At the same time, the USDA hasn't yet developed regulations to enforce compliance by 2008, according to a spokeswoman for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). APHIS is the division of the USDA that oversees the NAIS project.

It's not clear how the latest outbreak will affect progress on the NAIS, she said. "Certainly, it may help producers understand the need for the program."

Although the NAIS is still evolving, it is expected to include multiple interconnected databases, as opposed to one centralized database. These systems will be overseen by the agribusiness industry or some other private organization, not the government, she said. The exact means of tracking the cows -- whether by radio frequency identification (RFID) tags or some other technology -- also remains open.