I'll have the salad please...

FDA Report- BSE Interim Final Rule and Proposed Rule:
"FDA'S New Interim Final Rule Prohibiting Use of Certain Cattle Materials that May Carry the Risk of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) (Also Known as 'Mad Cow Disease') in Human Foods and Cosmetics

"Specified risk materials from cattle over 30 months are:
brain
skull
eyes
trigeminal ganglia
spinal cord
vertebral column (excluding the vertebrae of the tail, the transverse processes of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and the wings of the sacrum)
dorsal root ganglia.

"Specified risk materials from cattle of any age are the
tonsils and distal ileum of the small intestine.

"What products are covered by the interim final rule?
All FDA-regulated human food and cosmetics, including:
Dietary supplements and dietary ingredients
Infant formula
Canned and frozen foods
Bakery goods, snack food, and candy (including chewing gum)
Food ingredients, including GRAS substances
Food additives, including food-contact substances
Cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients."

Ewww. Consumers run a slight risk in acquiring the human version of mad cow disease if they apply cosmetics tainted with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to open cuts.
 
The FDA notes that the primary path of human exposure to BSE is through ingesting beef, and other food, from cattle, but points out that small doses of the infectious prions that cause mad cow disease can be found in cosmetics. Well those prions are in a whole lot of places including dental instruments and I'm not sure they know how many prions you need to actually get the human form of Mad Cow Disease or CJD. People are dying from it in this country though. 28 states don't report it. You need an autopsy to prove that you had it. Who knows what's really going on. At least the FDA is sort of getting on the stick.

More news concerning Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (CJD), Alzheimers, Prions and Mad Cow at Mad Cow - CJD.

More news at MeatAMI.com, the online resource for the meat and poultry community.