Extension officials say US beef supplies safe

COLLEGE STATION – Continuous surveillance efforts throughout the beef industry have provided assurance that U.S. beef is a safe and nutritious food source, Texas Cooperative Extension officials said last week.

No cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), widely known as mad cow disease, have been confirmed in the United States in the past 12 years with active surveillance at both slaughter firms and on the farm.

“Surveillance and testing of cows is a good protective measure of keeping our beef safe,” said Dr. Buddy Faries, Extension program leader for veterinary medicine. “Any cows that show neurological signs, are weak or thin in body condition are tested at slaughter. These animals do not enter the food chain.”

BSE was reported in Canada Tuesday – the first such reported case in that country in more than a decade. A cow in Alberta tested positive for the disease after tests were taken from the cow after slaughter. The meat did not enter the food chain, Canadian officials said. BSE is found only in the brain and spinal cord.

Faries noted some important facts about the surveillance systems and about mad cow disease:

• Surveillance systems in the U.S. and in Canada have been in place to monitor cattle for diseases and unwholesomeness. Surveillance testing reassures the U.S. beef supply is safe.

• All cows that show neurological signs, weak or thin body condition are tested at slaughter. These cows do not enter the food chain.

• The beef itself isn’t infected with BSE, only the brain and spinal cord. No evidence of infection is detected in milk or muscle tissue.

• No brains or spinal cords are ground in hamburger meat in the U.S.

• Surveillance testing, the ban on feeding ruminant protein to ruminants (feeding rendered cattle, sheep, goat or deer meat or bone meal back to beef cattle), and the prohibition on importing animals and meat products from BSE-affected countries has provided assurance that the U.S. and Texas will have healthy animals and wholesome meat products.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has closed the border to the importation of Canadian cattle and meat products.

The eight-year-old Canadian cow that tested positive for the disease was part of a 150-head herd. In January, the cow was condemned due to unwholesomeness on slaughter; and brain tissue was submitted for laboratory testing under the BSE surveillance program. Tests conducted at a laboratory in the United Kingdom confirmed infection of BSE in the cow’s brain after initial tests were run at a Canadian laboratory.

“These cows are regularly tested and taken out of the food chain,” Faries explained. “No brains or spinal cords are ground for hamburger here in the U.S. Continuous surveillance is the means to detect possible cases of disease like we’ve seen happen in Canada. The is not in the U.S. and is not likely to occur due to the compliance of the measures currently enforced by USDA and the Texas Animal Health Commission.”