The possibility that mad cow disease has occurred in the
United States has raised anew the vulnerability of American herds to this deadly
disease and the safety of the food supply. Here's what you need to know to
protect yourself.
What is mad-cow disease?
Mad-cow disease is one of several similar fatal brain diseases known as
transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, or TSEs. The name is based on their
main effect: The infected brain eventually becomes riddled with spongelike
holes. In people, the disease is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD; in
cows, it's called mad-cow disease; in sheep, it's scrapie; and in deer and elk,
chronic wasting disease. All are believed to be caused by a mutant protein, or
prion, that can apparently induce normal proteins to mimic its shape. Evidence
suggests that the disease can jump from species to species when a diseased
animal is eaten. Cooking meat until it's well done will protect against bacteria
but not infectious prions, which are so highly resistant to heat they can't be
cooked out.
Is it safe to eat U.S. beef?
The extent of the risk of human infection is currently unknown. Until more
information is available, individuals need to make a judgement about their risk
tolerance, according to the food-safety experts at Consumers Union's Consumer
Policy Institute. If eating beef is not very important to you, you might want to
forgo it until more is known. If you want to eat beef, you can limit your risk
by avoiding the foods most likely to carry mad-cow disease: brains and processed
beef products that may contain nervous-system tissue, such as hamburger, hot
dogs, and sausage. Organic or grass-fed beef carries the least risk, since the
cattle are not fed any animal remains. Steak and hamburger that's ground while
you watch are also lower-risk.
If the risk is unknown why are other countries banning U.S. beef?
Some countries, such as Japan and Korea, have stricter testing rules than the
U.S. The U.S. has in the past banned the importation of foreign beef from
Canada, Israel, Austria, and some other countries, on the basis of one case of
mad cow disease.
How safe is eating wild game, such as deer and elk?
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), an animal disorder similar to mad-cow disease is
spreading in deer and elk populations across North America. Unlike the
experience with infected cows, there is as yet no direct evidence that eating
the meat of deer or elk with CWD actually causes disease in people. Still,
test-tube experiments with prions have shown that human infection is
theoretically possible. And researchers are investigating the deaths of several
people who hunted or regularly ate venison and subsequently succumbed to
brain-wasting disease. Should consumers avoid eating deer and elk meat? Until
more is known, the answer to that question depends on your personal risk
tolerance, To play it completely safe, you may wish to abstain from eating deer
and elk meat until results of ongoing studies more clearly define any human
health risks. If you decide to eat deer or elk meat, consider choosing steaks,
which are far less likely to be infected than organ meats. Chopped meat or
sausages may be more risky, since they are likely to contain meat from several
deer or elk, and possibly organ meat and nerve matter that may harbor infectious
prions.
Is the U.S. doing everything possible to guard against an epidemic of mad cow
disease?
Consumers Union believes the federal government should take added steps to end
practices that could undermine the safety of meat. "The U.S. needs to be
far more pro-active in protecting the American food supply," says Mike
Hansen, PhD, Senior Research Associate with Consumers Union's Consumer Policy
Institute, which has been fighting for the following changes for years.
source: http://www.consumerreports.org/static/0312mad0.html 24dec03
|
To
send us your comments, questions, and suggestions click
here |