The first confirmed case of mad cow disease, or BSE, in an Italian-born cow was confirmed on Tuesday, after further tests on an animal from the northern region of Lombardy. In France meanwhile, a judge reportedly ordered searches of government buildings, as part of an inquiry into the alleged criminal liability of ministers over the BSE crisis. She is trying to establish whether ministers in France and the UK should face criminal charges over their alleged failure to halt the spread of mad cow disease. Two French familes whose relatives contracted vCJD, the human form of mad cow disease, have started the legal proceedings. Beef is safer than ever The Italian insistence that beef was safe to eat came from Health Minister Umberto Veronese.
Meat is safer today than it ever was in the past - that's for sure.
Mr Veronesi said the human form of the disease could still emerge in Italy. Farmers have staged a protest at the Lombardy farm where the BSE-infected cow was discovered. They are angry at plans to cull the entire herd. Czech ban extended Italy has been added to the list of countries whose beef is banned by the Czech Republic. Austria will also be affected by the ban, although its reported first case of mad cow disease was later confirmed to have been a false alarm.