It Safe Menu Planner FoodFit Profile Search for healthy and delicious recipes by type of food, season, meal, etc. For the history of mad cow disease, see the timeline . Read more about food safety . For more information on BSE, check out these links to government, consumer, industry and medical associations. First identified in 1986, BSE has infected hundreds of thousands of cattle in Western Europe despite government quarantine measures.
Research indicates the disease-causing agent is found in brain, spinal cord and retinal tissue.
It has not been detected in muscle meat or milk. This finding caused panic throughout Western Europe. The news of a human illness sent cattle sales across Europe plummeting and prompted chefs to replace the beef on their menus with more exotic fare, such as ostrich, reindeer and even horsemeat. To date, about 100 cases of vCJD have been reported in Britain and France. None have been reported in the United States, just as there have been no reports of BSE in American cattle after a decade of government testing.