Chew On This: Test to detect BSE?
There may at last be a test to monitor at the point of slaughter the presence of BSE in a cow's brain or spinal cord. Scientists working with the National Animal Disease Center of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service used a light-based spectroscopic technique that detects the fluorescent pigment lipofuscin in the nervous tissue of cattle. It's non-invasive and quick and doesn't need sample preparation as all other current tests.
BSE - Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy - leads to Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in humans. First discovered in 1996 in the UK, up to now suspected and proven cases of the disease have been diagnosed in 166 people in Britain.
Clearly it would increase consumer protection and confidence if it were in place. Current tests are expensive and require access to laboratories and special equipment, so can't be done on the spot.
So far this year, 143 million pounds of raw and frozen meat products have been recalled in the U.S. from the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company alone. There were fears that cattle unable to walk -- an indicator of the possible presence of BSE -- on their way to slaughter might have introduced BSE into the food chain.
BSE - Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy - leads to Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in humans. First discovered in 1996 in the UK, up to now suspected and proven cases of the disease have been diagnosed in 166 people in Britain.
Clearly it would increase consumer protection and confidence if it were in place. Current tests are expensive and require access to laboratories and special equipment, so can't be done on the spot.
So far this year, 143 million pounds of raw and frozen meat products have been recalled in the U.S. from the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company alone. There were fears that cattle unable to walk -- an indicator of the possible presence of BSE -- on their way to slaughter might have introduced BSE into the food chain.
Posted on Wednesday 20th August 2008 in
Blog
Add Comment