They had a confirmed death due to Mad Cow Disease about a week ago. Now they are recalling beef for possible Mad Cow prions. Some of this went to Whole Foods, which I know some of you shop.
It's good that this was caught, but it would be better if they'd put enough USDA inspectors to work so it never gets into the food chain in the first place.
Whoah mule!!! When I first read that story it stated the patient had just traveled to Europe and that as where he got infected. So we have animals with it here?
Whoah mule!!! When I first read that story it stated the patient had just traveled to Europe and that as where he got infected. So we have animals with it here?
From what I know of Mad Cow, it takes at least 5-10 years normally for the disease to progress to fatal, so him just coming back from Europe and dying from it surprises me.
It's a prion based disease, which is generated in the dorsal root ganglion tissue of the beef. This has to be totally removed during processing to meet the US guidelines. In this case, it wasn't, and put the beef as suspect for the prion being present. This deadly little prion can go undetected for years...until it kills you. I've often wondered how many cases of Alzheimer's might not be Mad Cow. So hard to tell the difference. So far, there have only been 4 US cows diagnosed with the disease since 2003. Diagnosed being the key word here. We don't know how many have slipped by and into the food chain. That's why the removal of the dorsal ganglion tissue is so important when processing, as this is where the prions can reside and go on to infect humans.
So, in answer to that Whoa Mule, yes, it has been found in US cows. Vegetables, anyone?
Whoah mule!!! When I first read that story it stated the patient had just traveled to Europe and that as where he got infected. So we have animals with it here?
It's good that this was caught, but it would be better if they'd put enough USDA inspectors to work so it never gets into the food chain in the first place.
