BSE (mad cow disease) was SC - re: meat

[Decker, Terry D.]

> Was this killing floor in the USA or Britain? I can see where British
> subjects
> may be concerned about this but I fail to see any refevance in the US meat
> packing industry. I am unaware that this disease is a danger here. I often
> times use the brains and 'spinal' tissue in assorted things. Like marrow
> it is
> rather bland and has a 'fatty' texture but , also like marrow it is an
> organ
> and not fat.It does add bulk and the fat-like texture allows for reduction
> in
> added fats. I personally find it very edible.
> 
> What incidences of mad cow's disease have been reported in the US that
> would
> make spinal or other nerve tissue a problem as a beef by-product
> ingredient?
> 
> Ras
> 
The killing floor had to be in the US, Britian prohibits the use of brain
and spinal tissue by humans or as animal extracts for fodder.

There has been one officially reported case in Canada in an animal imported
before the ban on importing beef from the UK.  There have been no officially
reported outbreaks in the US.  A number of suspected cases have turned out
to be other bovine problems and a number of imported cattle have been
destroyed as a preventative measure since, until recently, it was impossible
to determine whether an animal was infected without visible symptoms and
actual identification of the disease was made post mortem.  

One of the big problems with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy is the long
period between infection and displaying symptoms.  The incubation period
averages about 4.5 years.  In 1997, a new test for BSE was developed using
lab mice.  It only takes 120 days to determine the presence of BSE.  The
information about this test was very sketchy, but it appears to be an
offshoot of Paul Brown's research (NIH) into the transmittablitity of CJD in
mice. 

BSE is believed to be caused by a prion or a filterable glycoprotein or,
possibly, an unidentified virus.  The precise agent has not been identified.
One of the reasons to suspect a prion is the fact that some prions can
survive extreme conditons including cooking temperatures.

In humans, BSE manifests itself as a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jacobson Disease
known as nvCJD.  The connection was suspected in the late 1980's when
Britian experienced CJD in low probability victims, then had a general
increase in CJD.  The link has only been proven within the past couple of
years.  As of January 1998, there were 22 or 23 cases of nvCJD in Britain
and 1 in France.  

It is estimated that between .5 and 1 person per million becomes infected
with CJD each year.  The US has between 200 and 250 diagnosed cases per
year.  No cases of nvCJD have been found in the US.

While BSE is not present in the US, there is an open debate as to the
presence of another unidentified Transmittable Spongiform Encephalopathy
(TSE) in US dairy cattle with every interest group from PETA to the American
Beef Council taking a hand, which makes it very difficult to separate fact
from fantasy in what was a very speculative academic discussion.

BSE concerns epidemiologists, who see the potential for a long term, hard to
identify epidemic with the possibility for a sudden geometric increase in
cases.  At present, too little is known about the nature of TSEs to
determine the extent of the problem (TSEs have been misdiagnosed as
Alzheimers) or to calculate the risks.

Statistically, in the US, the risk of infection from BSE is low.  Do you
trust statistics?

Bear 





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