Mad Cow Disease

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Mad Cow Disease

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or "Mad Cow Disease" as it is more commonly known, is a chronic degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system of cattle over two years old. Over the past few years, the United Kingdom has reported over 180,000 cases of BSE, with Europe reporting over 1500 cases.

BSE is extremely heat resistant, and cannot be killed by cooking or even autoclaving (the form of sterilisation used in doctor and dental surgeries). The level at which BSE is inactivated is unknown. There are also no tests that can be used on processed meat products, therefore BSE activity in these products can only be known by testing the animals from which the product is derived. If humans eat beef or beef products containing BSE, they risk developing vCJD (Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease), a fatal neuro-degenerative disorder caused by the transmission of BSE to humans.

However the problem lies not only in consuming BSE affected beef. There are a number of imported products that may contain ingredients derived from cattle that are yet to be proven safe for consumption. Earlier this year the Australian Government issued a ban on the import of foods containing beef or beef products due to concerns that BSE would reach Australia. Fresh beef however, has not been imported into Australia from Europe for over two years.

Imported foods (or Australia-made foods containing imported ingredients) that could potentially be affected include:

Soups, cassoulet, beef goulash, filled pasta
Stock cubes, meat flavourings and stocks, gravy
Liverwurst, pate, meat paste
Luncheon meats, sausage, frankfurters, brockwurst, salami
Preserved or canned meat and offal, corned beef, haggis.
Source: Choice Online, 2001.

The label may not state the country origin of some of the ingredients even if the product is made in Australia.

Other non-meat imported products/ingredients that are also under suspicion include:

Milk and milk products
Gelatine (which can be made from cattle bones and feet and is used in jelly, sweets, icecream, custards, etc)
Cosmetics
Collagen (for implants)
Pharmaceuticals (although this is highly unlikely)
Tallow/Beef fat (used in processed food and cosmetics)
Rennet (used to make cheese)
Source: Choice Online, 2001.

Due to strict quarantine and feeding practices however, we can be fairly confident that Australia is BSE free.

In an effort to further safeguard Australia from BSE, the Australian New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) has proposed changes to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to require that bovine meat and bovine-derived food ingredients to be derived from animals free of BSE. The proposed changes would allow the Imported Food Program of the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service and the New Zealand Ministry of Health to enforce the change by applying certification criteria to imported foods thus reducing the risk of BSE being transmitted to Australia.

For more information visit Choice Online or ANZFA.

Last Updated: April 8, 2001.