Mad Cow Disease

When I was picking up a prescription at our local Sam's Club store, I made a stop at the meat department. If you've never been to a Sam's Club, they have incredible prices on their meat: I once got five chicken breasts that were the size and thickness of my feet (and I wear an 8 1/2) for about $20. This made for at least ten meals and would have cost at least $3 more at a 'regular' store.  Strangely, my steaks reminded me of a debate I had years ago with a friend about the safety of beef when it comes to Mad Cow disease. Odd jump, I know. It is quite rare and hasn't been a problem in the US for a long time because of aggressive government protocols, but I still think it's worth knowing about. That, and I just find it interesting.

The technical name for Mad Cow Disease is bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). It's what is called a 'prion disease'-an illness caused by naturally-occurring proteins in the brain that become infected. No one is really sure how this happens, but it's not something that can be 'killed' by normal cooking or antibiotics. It was first diagnosed in the UK in 1986, with the first case in the US in 2003. It's called 'Mad Cow' because the disease eats away at brain tissue and makes the cow behave in an erratic manner. In other words, it makes the cow act like it's gone mad.

The human version is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. The vast majority of the cases that occur are either completely spontaneous or inherited, but there is a variant (vCJD) that is thought to be transmitted through infected meat. This became a huge deal in 2001 when a woman died from it. Through autopsy, it was determined that the woman ate infected meat when she lived in England about ten years before. Needless to say, my friends and I avoided the hamburger when we went there later that year. It was a lot less expensive to do the PB&J thing anyway.  It's not an issue there anymore.

My trip to the store made me think of it because of the different cuts of meat. While it is possible for BSE and/or prion diseases in general to show up in the muscle tissue we eat, it's not very likely. Basically, any transmission of the disease happens when one mammal eats the brain and/or spinal cord of another mammal. It was thought to have been transmitted to cows through feed that contained meat and bone meal from sheep (their 'version' is called 'scrapie') and/or other infected cows. The US Department of Agriculture has ensured that this will no longer happen here in the US, but other countries may not be so strict.  For instance, I've seen hamburger labels that state that the meat came from the US, Mexico and Brazil. None of these countries have had a problem with BSE, but there was nothing saying a) what part of the cow the meat came from, b) what country the cows were slaughtered in and c) what country the meat was processed in. I'm sure it's fine, but I know how careful some people want to be about what goes into their (and their kids') bodies. Milk isn't affected at all.

There usually isn't anything to worry about in the meat supply we find in grocery stores today but, if you're nervous about it or in general, check out http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=FOOD_SAFETY.
For more information about BSE and other related illnesses, visit http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/a/aa122703a.htm.