Missouri Department of Agriculture's Press Release - Mad Cow Disease

For Immediate Release:
December 23, 2003

For more information contact:
Sally Oxenhandler, public information officer
Phone: (573) 751-8596 Fax: (573) 751-5002

Statement from Missouri's Director of Agriculture, Peter Hofherr, regarding the presumptive positive case of BSE in Washington state:

Missourians should remain confident their food supply is safe despite the U.S. Department of Agriculture's announcement of a presumptive positive case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also referred to as mad cow disease, in the state of Washington.

It is important to note that BSE poses little threat to the human food supply and is not easily transmitted from animal to animal. Scientific findings show the disease is not transmitted through the muscle cuts of meat that we typically enjoy at mealtime, but through nervous system tissues such as the brain and spinal cord. At this point, it also appears that the finding is an isolated case that has been contained in Washington state. The USDA says it has no reason to believe the incident is related to terrorism.

The presumptive positive finding shows the nation's safeguards against BSE are working, as the case was discovered as part of a routine testing of non-ambulatory animals at slaughter. Missouri's efforts to safeguard against BSE are identical to those taking place nationwide. They include enforcing the federal ban on the use of ruminant feed and routinely collecting animal tissue samples for testing.

We encourage people to continue to include beef in their diets and to make informed decisions about this situation with information from credible sources. It is important that we support Missouri cattle producers at this time, as the news of the presumptive positive case will no doubt have an impact on market prices.

I applaud USDA's swift action in this matter and look forward to learning the latest findings in a conference call tomorrow with Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman. In addition, the USDA is providing up-to-the-minute information on this situation via its Web site at www.usda.gov.

I urge Missourians to enjoy the holidays and rest assured that all of us involved with Missouri's agricultural industry are working to ensure our food supply remains safe.

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