stories:
Nagging Question
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Can You Get Mad Cow Disease from Eating Bone Marrow?That should be the least of your worries |
Mad cow disease, a.k.a. bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system in cattle, primarily spread by contaminated feed. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) says that there is “strong epidemiologic and laboratory data” linking human consumption of BSE-contaminated products to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), “a rare, degenerative, fatal brain disorder.” There’ve been a lot of panicked media reports about vCJD, but there have only been three documented cases in the United States as of June 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (and a total of 208 worldwide).
Still, people continue to be cautious about eating parts of cows that may carry BSE. The FSIS considers these to be the brain, tonsils, eyes, spinal cord, certain parts of the nervous system, and part of the small intestine. There is sometimes confusion about bone marrow because it has been reported to potentially carry the infection, but Christopher Cox, a health communications specialist at the CDC, says that so far research has been inconclusive, thus “there is currently no evidence to suggest that consumption of bone marrow poses a greater risk than other beef products.”
People also wonder about oxtail because it seems like part of the spinal column, but the FSIS “does not believe that the oxtail, used primarily for soups, is a source of potential infectivity” because the area that the agency defines as the tail doesn’t contain the high-risk portions of the animal (the spinal cord and the dorsal root ganglia).
Cox says that the last confirmed case of BSE in the U.S. was in 2006, and that “there is no reason for people to exercise more caution than normal when consuming beef products.” As of October 26, 2009, new FDA regulations will ban the use of the tissues that have the highest risk of carrying the BSE-causing agent—the brains and spinal cords from cattle 30 months or older—in all animal feed. This strengthens the 1997 regulation that required cattle feed to be clear of certain nasty bits but not all. The hope is to avoid any cross-contamination between other animal feeds and that of cattle by keeping the high-risk items out entirely.
BSE and other variations are also found in elk, bison, deer and other animals. Despite their popularity and tastiness, avoid ALL animal brain, tonsils, eyes, spinal cord, parts of the nervous system when possible.
And ...in July 2009 CWD prions were found in Elk Antler Velvet - New research shows the infectious prions associated with chronic wasting disease can be found inElk Antler Velvet, a substance that's used to make nutritional supplements.
http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/15/5/p...
Maybe you can ask Christopher Cox WHY the CDC has not demanded the FDA recall ALL nutritional supplements that use Antler Velvet. I have written to some 10 FDA employees requesting this recall and never heard a word back from any of them, nor has there been a recall in the US.
Read here, and all subsequent links, for thorough research on the subject of BSE, CWD, CJD...all human TSE's:
http://www.blogger.com/profile/069866...
In the book "Deadly Feasts", which chronicles the history of the identification of prions, at least one expert Richard Rhodes spoke to raised a question about the potential anger to humans of plant fertilizers including bone meal and blood.
Much as I love oxtail, there is no way you can tell me that oxtail ain't part of the spinal cord.
"...the potential anger to humans of plant fertilizers including bone meal and blood. "
Well, I guess you're darned if you do and darned if you don't. Bone meal and blood meal are supposed to be better because they are organic. I have been using both of these items this summer.
Your subhead "That should be the least of your worries" makes absolutely no sense. How about, "That should be your biggest worry,"?
Keyword: "CONFIRMED CASES." Reporting requirements are so lax and the industry's hold on regulations is so tight that NO ONE has any idea exactly how prevalent BSE is. GIGO's law applies here, in more ways than one: Garbage In, Garbage Out.
SG. It is easily provable that oxtail is not part of, or more properly stated does not contain any part of the spinal cord. The central bone/cartilage of the oxtails is solid. There is not "hole" or lumen for the spinal cord to pass through.
No more Sopa de Médula for me!
KMcarr, are you sure about that. I've cooked oxtail and would swear there was a lumen. I did quite a bit of googling on the topic and could not find a definitive answer.
You can get 'mad cow' disease from eaiting any part of a cow.
In fact, researchers have found the prions that cause the disease in cow's milk.
Eat grass fed beef and you'll be fine. We have some of the most lax beef testing standards in the world which is why most countries refuse to import our meat.
The reason it isn't front page news is that the diease, although incurable, can take up to 20 years to manifest itself.
So far, they haven't found a way to destroy the prions either. This disease is almost identical to the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) which is decimating the herds of elk and deer out west.
Eat at your own risk unless you know where the meat came from and how it was raised.