Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has been a confirmed case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in a California dairy cow

There has been a confirmed case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in a California dairy cow. While this may scare some of you, there are reasons you should have faith in US beef and dairy producers and I wanted to let you know why.

What is important to know as a consumer of beef and dairy products?

1. The animal NEVER entered the food supply at any time. Our food supply has not been compromised.
   
2. The measures we go to protect our food supply is top notch in the US and has not failed in this case. 
   
3. An atypical form of BSE is what we are dealing with here. The most common method for BSE spread between cows is in the feed they eat if it becomes infected. In the current case, the cow was not infected by a feed source. 
4. Since 1997 we have banned mammalian products to be fed to animals and this has helped us to decrease the incidence of BSE in cattle.
5. The USDA will continue to investigate this case to make sure our regulations and safeguards are up to standards in continuing to protect public health as well as animal health.

For more information about BSE, please visit:  http://bseinfo.org/default.aspx