Has anyone heard of any updates on 'Mad Cow Disease' lately in Europe? I recently read that it is still widespread.

I don't know - but I just can't stop shaking llllong ennnough ttto wwwrite tttthis rrrresponse (mhm I'll have some more beef while I am writing this).

I am going to risk sounding like a silly cow (rather than a mad cow) and say I guess this means it is not a worry?

Lorie, I am assuming that either it is not that much of a risk OR people here just don't know whether it is or isn't. In any case, I plan on being careful when we go.

When I was in Killarney,Ireland last year I
remember having a hamburger. I guess there is
always the risk that I may have the disease
because I guess it stays in your system for a
while before it becomes noticable. ... I would
recommend avoiding any meat that could be cow
based such as hamburger. Better safe than sorry!

You take your chances ... but if you know the real story behind this, it's a big political sham.

Linda sounds like Rush Limbaugh and the ozone layer. <BR> <BR>Notice the 1997 date. Hilarious.

"Mad Cow" disease has a incubation period of close to 20 years. The fear is that in the next 20 years, more and more folks will die from the disease due to beef infected decades ago. I'm afraid it's not a joke or a political sham...the prion diseases are very real, and I haven't read that Stanley Pruisner's prion research (which won him a Nobel prize in 1997) is considered a "sham".<BR> <BR>However, should you eat British beef? Your decision...take your chances. The probability of your getting "mad cow" or KJD, are pretty darn thin...you're more likely to get eaten by a shark than develop the disease.

When in England I was told that they were no longer serving beef on the bone (spare ribs, etc). The rest of the meat was considered safe (I don't know that it IS safe, just that it was considered to be). I wasn't worried and ate like a pig ;-)

I had heard that the incubation time could be as long as 30 years! So, I figure with all the times I've been to England and all the beef I've eaten, I might as well enjoy some more. I think they've destroyed a lot of herds and the beef is supposed to be much safer now, but what did we eat years ago? I'm not going to worry about it, but those who say it is just a sham should know that a friend's mother died 3 years ago of KJS, documented on autopsy (and a definitive diagnosis depends on examining brain tissue). So, it certainly is real, but then so are a lot of other things that can kill you.

And it's not just in Britain either. My aunt died of the disease in Manitoba, Canada last year. Apparently there were 2 other deaths in the same year. I've since heard of a death here in Ontario. Apparently there is more than 1 cause, but we were told that the incubation period could be 40 years.

When I was living there about three years ago, all the beef being sold in the markets was stamped to let the consumers know it had been determined to be safe. I don't know if there ever was a disease, or if there still is, but it really doesn't seem to concern many of the British. I think if you're going to visit, most likely you won't eat enough beef to really worry about it.

Actually, if you walk in front of a moving bus you might die too.

I was struck by lightening once and lived to tell about it. Bring on the limey steaks!

A vegetarian writes:- <BR> <BR>BSE is virtually unknown in the UK herd. Since the problem arose, probably because cows were fed meal made from bovine remants which had not been heated to a sufficient temperature, our farmers were requied to slaughter their herds over the age of three years. It doesn't develop till the animals are older than that. Nowadays all animals which are going for slaughter must be under 3, and the abattoirs are not allowed to allow any part of the nervous system into the food chain. Inasmuch as the scientists know where it comes from, it seems to come from prions which are present in the brain and spine. The major problem appears to have been in the sort of meat which goes into sausages and hamburger- you know, oesumable about MRM ( mechanically recovered meat)? <BR> <BR>The beef on the bone ban has been lifted; and with the exception of France which is in court on the issue, our beef is now acceptable everywhere in Europe and it remains at its original high standard. <BR> <BR>Stay out of Macdonalds and you'll be fine! (It was a joke! don't sue me)

Even McDonalds serves British beef - what an accolade!!!!!

British beef is no worse than others - probably better as its more highly inspected.The problem was that the Briish researched it, came clean about it & took steps. <BR>It exists to at least the same extent in other countries who have decided not to look, in fact there's a lot who say evidence in other countries has been suppressed. <BR>A lot of the furore was political, especially with the French, who will happily ban any food import to keep their farmers sweet.You have as much chance of being struck by lightning as catching BSE.

Well, you don't have to worry about catching Mad Cow from a hamburger in England--there can't be more than 10% beef in those things. Could they be any nastier? I don't understand this, as I think the steaks in England are good. Why must they torture the poor hamburger in such a fashion? <BR> <BR>Anyway, if you're worried, just stay away from beef on the bone. And blame Thatcher for this (add it to the long list), as she was aware of the problem back in the 80s, but decided to ignore it so as not to harm the British beef industry. That strategy certainly paid off for the British farmers, didn't it?

As for all that talk earlier about Ireland, Ireland always slaughtered all of a herd, where any animal was infected, plus it was Britain, not Ireland where they used to use bovine remanents. This was not practice in Ireland. As far as I kow all British and Irish beef has now been cleared.

The beef in Northern Ireland was exempted from the ban in the rest of the UK, as farmers there had kept detailed records on their cows, and were so far ahead of the British farmers that the EU declared N. Irish beef safe.