We have compiled the information on this page in an effort to keep our customers informed about one of the most important issues facing the beef industry. If your questions are not addressed by this page, we urge you to call us toll-free at 1-800-497-2624. Additionally, up-to-date information regarding Mad Cow Disease can be found on the web at the National Cattleman's Beef Association website.

Mad Cow Disease in the United States

Updated June 24, 2005

What is Known:

It was confirmed by USDA on Friday, June 24th, that a single beef cow had tested positive for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), otherwise known as Mad Cow Disease.  

This animal DID NOT enter the human food supply. It was deemed a non-ambulatory animal, which means that it may have had a broken limb or may have displayed signs of a neurological disorder prior to harvesting. All non-ambulatory cattle are automatically banned from the human food supply. After a sample was taken from this animal, it was incinerated.  

The cow was born before the 1997 ban on animal byproducts in cattle feed in the United States.   BSE typically affects older cattle over 30 months of age.  

This is not an animal health issue; current science indicates that BSE is not found in whole muscle meats including ground beef, steaks and roasts.  

Why The U.S. Beef Supply is Safe:

USDA has a series of BSE firewalls in place, including:

• A ban on the feeding of animal byproducts to cattle since 1997 (this is the only way BSE spreads).  
• An increased surveillance and testing program that identifies animals believed to be at risk for BSE, specifically, non-ambulatory animals. (Non-ambulatory animals are not allowed into the human food supply).   This amounts to testing approximately 1,000 animals per day.  
• A ban on beef from countries that have had a history of BSE problems.

These firewalls are working, as evidenced by this discovery.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johann's webcasts discussing this discovery and various updates are available at www.usda.gov

More information is available on the National Cattleman's Beef Association's web site on BSE at www.bseinfo.org

Why Maverick Ranch's Natural Beef is Not at Risk:

• This animal never entered the food supply. It was destroyed.

• Maverick Ranch cattle are fed a 100% vegetarian diet.  Our cattle are never fed animal byproducts or proteins.
• All of Maverick Ranch's cattle used for beef production are young (typically yearlings under 24 months of age), not older cows or bulls.
• Maverick Ranch uses only whole muscle cuts. The only tissues known to harbor BSE prions are retinal tissues, brain tissue, spinal cord tissue, and small intestines. These tissues are never used in Maverick Ranch's products.  

  Since our company was founded in 1986, Maverick Ranch has demonstrated a commitment to food safety unmatched in the beef industry. We are founding members and authors of the Beef Safety Coalition. We only use American cattle raised in Colorado and surrounding states. Our cattle are absolutely never fed animal byproducts and live their entire lives on a 100% vegetarian diet.

THE FACTS ABOUT BSE (MAD COW DISEASE)

  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) was first discovered in 1986. The disease originated in Great Britain, where it was dubbed "Mad Cow Disease" by the press (due to its effect on the brain). BSE is one of a family of TSEs ( Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies ) that affects sheep, cattle, deer, elk and humans. These diseases are believed to be caused by a prion (protein) substance found in the brain. In 1986, scientists thought BSE could have been passed from sheep to cattle to humans and might be the cause of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD, an affliction similar in symptoms to Alzheimer's Disease). Subsequent studies have proven this is not the case. This can't happen because of the differences between animal and human prions. However, evidence suggests that New Variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (nvCJD) may indeed be a result of consuming beef nervous tissue infected with BSE.

  TSEs are rare degenerative diseases of the brain and spinal cords. Little is known about them but they are believed to be caused by neither viruses nor bacteria. The causative agent, which has only been found in brains or spinal cords of affected animals, appears to be a prion material. In the cattle in England that had the disease, it was determined that the muscle and fat did not contain the causative agent - only the brain and spinal cords. In other words, people might have been able to eat the beef from these animals (and probably did) with no effect.

  To date there has been only one case of BSE in the United States. But other TSEs have been present here for a long time: In the 1920s, a TSE known commonly as Scrapie was found in sheep. Chronic Wasting Disease is a TSE that affects deer and elk. There is no known link to humans from either of these diseases, even though many people ate lamb during the Scrapie outbreak.

  As with BSE, scientific evidence shows a small prion molecule in the brain of animals infected with Chronic Wasting Disease and Scrapie. "Prion" is a generic term and different species have different brain cell prion (proteins). Humans have entirely differently shaped prion protein cells from those of other animals. Cattle and sheep, however, have similarly shaped cells.

  An infected prion is one that has a distorted shape. Some scientists believe a distorted prion could affect a similar but undistorted prion. The leading scientific thinking today is that human and cattle brain cell prions are so dissimilar that one could not affect the other.

  There are many theories about the sources of Mad Cow Disease and its probable links to a similar disease in humans, New Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (nvCJD). In England, following the BSE outbreak, nvCJD became somewhat widespread, with over 100 cases reported. Scientists have not been able to determine the exact cause of nvCJD (see below).

MAD COW Q&A

  Written by Roy Moore, Founder of Maverick Ranch Natural Meats, and reviewed by Gary Smith, PhD, Colorado State University (Dr. Smith is considered by many to be the world's most prominent Meat Scientist. Dr. Smith holds the Montfort Chair at Colorado State University and former head of Texas A&M Animal Science Department).

  As a measure to inform those concerned, we have put together the following question and answer format summary on BSE and other similar diseases. There are many theories about Mad Cow Disease and its probable links to a similar disease in humans, New Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (nvCJD). Roy Moore met with Dr. Gary Smith, who reviewed our questions and answers and suggested firewall measures that Maverick Ranch could enact to protect our consumers in the most effective ways possible. These firewalls and Maverick's course of action appear following the Q&A section.

A. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is commonly known as Mad Cow Disease. This is a degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle causing their brain to appear as a sponge. Cattle begin acting abnormally and eventually have to be terminated.

A. There are a number of similar diseases among humans and animals that exhibit the same symptoms. This group is called Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). A smapling of these diseases is listed below:

• Scrapie in sheep has been around for 200 years. An outbreak occurred in the United States in the 1920s but no human effects were observed.
• Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) affects some deer and elk primarily in northeastern Colorado, southeastern Wyoming and western Nebraska.
• Transmissible Mink Encephalopathy

• Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) has been observed for about 80 years and appears worldwide in about one out of every million people, primarily between the ages of 55-75.
• New Variant CJD (nvCJD) has affected a small number of younger people. Discovered in Europe in the 1990s.
• Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Disease (GSS) is a rare hereditary disease, which is associated with a gene mutation in the encoding for some human cells.
• Kuru, found in New Guinea cannibals, has virtually been eliminated following the abolition of cannibalism.
• Fatal Insomnia (not considered transmissible)
• Alzheimer's Disease (not considered transmissible, but humans may have a genetic predisposition which is also found in nvCJD).

Q. What causes BSE?

A. At this point, the scientific community has reached no firm conclusion as to the cause of BSE. A sixteen-volume scientific report released by the European Economic Community (EEC) delved into a major inquiry of BSE. The report showed strong evidence indicating that when brain, spinal tissue, or bone meal from infected cattle are fed to other cattle, the disease can be spread. There has not been any evidence as to whether or not any other TSEs, BSE, CJD, nvCJD, or Scrapie can pass to other species on its own. Numerous studies have been conducted. In one study, byproducts from elk infected with Chronic Wasting Disease fed to cattle indicated no positive effect in cattle. Keep in mind that no human has ever contracted BSE from cattle. Additionally, statistics indicate that at least three of the people in England who have died from nvCJD were vegetarians.

A. The causes have not been proven exactly, however there are numerous theories.

  The leading and most accepted theory of the causative agent of TSE's is known as a prion . This prion is an infectious particle differing from bacteria, viruses, fungi, viroids and plasmids. It consists of one protein particle with a binding action to cells that can destroy or alter the shape. Furthermore, this protein is resistant to inactivation by heat. Some people believe the cause to be a virus, one that is yet to be identified. However, one problem with this theory is that no DNA or RNA is present.

  One theory, dating back to World War II, says that TSEs are a result of the use of organophosphates. Organophosphates are a family of chemicals developed in Germany during WWII as nerve gas, which have since been widely used as pesticides applied to meat animals, fruits, vegetables and other crops. Circumstantial evidence pointing to this theory has come from a cluster of nvCJD cases that existed in a small village in England in the late 1980s. This village is in an area of heavy usage of organophosphates on hops fields where cattle graze on the aftermath. Some people infected with nvCJD had eaten sausage made from infected animals.

  Some scientists, however, challenge the organophosphates theory. One Cambridge University research study indicates magnesium binds to the prion, causing BSE. Similar theories have evolved where aluminum has been found binding to brain cells in Alzheimer's patients.

  Yet another theory is one involving the autoimmune system, with the causative neurological agent being possibly an antibody made by the animal and not a prion particle.

A. In 1997, Stanley Prusiner was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for his identification and association of the prion protein with neurological disorders. The disease appears to be transmitted by a pure protein alone. This mechanism of transmission appears to be impossible and unfathomable to medical researchers. Without exception, every virus identified to date has genetic material composed of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA). DNA is in all forms of life and is necessary for replication. However, when a protein does not consist of DNA, can a protein replicate itself? Scientists do not think so. Analysis reveals that prion particles appear to be pure protein and have neither DNA nor RNA.

A. In cattle, symptoms appear thirty months to possibly as long as six years after exposure. In humans, nvCJD symptoms may not erupt for as long as ten years after transmission.

A. Evidence indicates that transmission of BSE to humans is only possible if the brain, eyes or spinal tissue is consumed from animals infected with BSE. It is suggested that the disease evolved and spread in humans through the popular English dish, "Brains and Eggs". An additional possible danger appears to be from transmission through animal and human vaccines, pharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, organ transplants and possibly cosmetics.

A. Scientists have been conducting ongoing tests, but the only sure diagnosis is actual inspection of the brain.

A. Geographically it is spreading. However, the number of cases has declined by 90% since the biggest outbreak in Europe in 1986.

Q. What measures are being taken by the United States to prevent the spread of BSE or nvCJD?

A. There are numerous government agencies and institutional laboratories that are monitoring BSE issues along with other TSE cases. Here are some significant developments in this effort:

• Since 1985, the United States has not imported beef from England. In 1989, the USDA banned the importation of ruminant animals from countries with confirmed cases of BSE.
• In June 1997, the FDA issued a regulation banning the use of at-risk mammalian protein in animal feed.
• In December 1997, the USDA and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) banned imports of all live ruminants and at-risk ruminant products from Europe until risk factors associated with BSE are fully examined.
• In December 2000, APHIS prohibited all imports of rendered animal protein products from Europe, regardless of species.
• Processing facilities have taken voluntary steps to remove brains and the spinal tissue from the carcass and do not allow them in edible products.

Q. Where did Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer and elk start and how does it spread?

A. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) first appeared at, and spread to the wild from, the Foothills Wildlife Research Facility (FWRF) in Ft. Collins, CO. Mule deer began dying there in 1967 and CWD was determined as the cause in 1980. CWD was diagnosed in elk in 1981 in Larimer County, Colorado. In 1985, all animals at FWRF were terminated, water troughs and feed bins were disinfected, ground was sprayed with disinfectant and plowed a foot deep, and paddocks were not used for one year. New deer and elk were introduced to the facility but within the year they began contracting CWD. CWD spreads via blood from the doe to fawn, by simple contact such as nose-to-nose touching, shared saliva, water and food, and contact of urine or feces from an infected animal.

A. There are many theories, some of which include:

• CWD jumped from Scrapie in sheep.
• Organophosphate pollution in fields sprayed with herbicides.
• Cement plant pollution.
• Old sheep salt licks that contained infected bonemeal (bonemeal has been used as a calcium source for animals and humans).

Q. Have people contracted CWD?

A. No, however, three people in Oklahoma and Utah died and were diagnosed with CJD. CJD has affected people worldwide since discovered in the 1920s. Something unusual about these deaths is that all three were hunters and all three were in their thirties. It is not mentioned in the news where these people had hunted. Also, it was emphasized that the diagnosis was CJD and not nvCJD. The circumstances of these three men's lives and the diagnosis has led some media reporters to jump to conclusions not supported by fact.

A. There are no known cases.

Q. What conclusions has Maverick Ranch arrived at following a thorough study of BSE?

A. While every theory has some contradicting evidence, our discussions with Dr. Smith lead us to conclude that there is more scientific evidence to the following sequence of events:

1. Scrapie, a TSE in sheep, jumped the species barrier and is responsible for BSE in cattle and wasting disease in deer and elk. BSE in cattle probably has jumped the species barrier to humans and is the most likely cause of nvCJD in humans in Europe.
2. Firewalls have been enacted in Europe and the United States to stop the spread to cattle. The incidence of the disease in cattle has dropped dramatically.
3. With Firewalls in place in Europe and the United States, this should eventually stop the spread of nvCJD.

  The number of people in Europe, primarily England, exposed to cattle brains and/or spinal tissue from infected cattle in the 1980s is unknown. Scientists have estimated nvCJD will have affected anywhere from 100 people to 2,000 people in Europe (the number currently stands at around 140). Science has also discovered that all but one of the cases of nvCJD exhibit a certain genetic makeup. There is a homozygous genotype at polymorphs codon 129 of the PRNP gene. Approximately forty percent of the population is homozygous for methionine at this location. This would indicate that sixty percent of the population in England is probably resistant.

A. I would not hesitate to eat beef steaks or roasts that have been properly cooked in any European country. However, I would make an exception to eating European beef brains and eggs, beef heart, or ground beef. This is no different than my current eating habit other than that I eat a large portion of Maverick Ranch Beef (ground beef, steaks and roasts). When eating out, I do not hesitate to order steaks or roast beef although it usually comes from commodity beef. I believe whole muscle cuts of beef, pork and lamb from the United States are among the safest foods in the world. Of course, my biased opinion is that Maverick Ranch Beef provides the safest natural meats available anywhere.

A: Dr. Gary Smith suggests the following six Critical Control Points for minimizing risk of BSE prions in beef tissues and products in the United States:

1. Assure, absolutely, that cattle are not fed meat or bone meal.
2. Do not allow use of air-injection cattle stunning devices.
3. Assure complete removal of the spinal cord from beef carcasses.
4. If Advanced Meat Recovery (AMR) tissue is generated/purchased, do not use tissue recovered from the vertebral column.
5. If AMR tissue or lean finely textured beef(LFTB) tissue is to be purchased, secure affidavits from suppliers regarding raw materials to be used as sources of tissue and randomly test tissues for presence of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) for validation.
6. Have an Individual Animal Identification (IAID) traceback system in place so that if a case of BSE occurs, it can be contained completely.

MAVERICK RANCH MAD COW FIREWALLS

  As a founding member and author of the Beef Safety Coalition, Maverick Ranch has had the following firewall measures guarding against Mad Cow Disease since our company's inception in 1985.

1. We have had affidavits in place for a number of years assuring that our custom fed cattle have not been fed bone meal or meat by-products of any kind.
2. Animals are stunned by a method that eliminates brain penetration. We have verified the non-use of air injection cattle stunning devices at terminal destinations.
3. Our fabrication facility (where beef carcasses are cut and boxed into primal cuts) inspects each carcass to assure spinal tissue is completely removed.
4. We never use advanced meat recovery methods (mechanical meat separation from bone). Thus there is no possibility of brain or spinal tissue being present in our ground beef.
5. We never purchase finely textured beef or advanced meat recovery beef. Additionally, we never use meat trimmings.
6. Our ground round, ground chuck, ground sirloin and ground beef is freshly ground at the store from whole muscles only. Remember that muscle and fat are not affected by BSE. This is also one of our precautions against E-Coli 0157:H7, a pathogenic bacteria. No central grinders are used.
7. Traceability is provided by bar codes on each box with a paper trail.

ADDITIONAL WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY

• The only steak that could ever become a problem is the T-Bone, which if improperly cut can retain a small amount of soft spinal tissue at the top of the "T". We recommend that you simply make sure there is no extra tissue there.
• Don't chew on bones. Cut meat away from the bones.
• Eat only ground beef that you know is made from whole muscle. We feel that Maverick Ranch grinds are produced safely because they are ground from whole muscle fresh at the store. If Maverick Ranch ground beef is not available, ask your meat department manager to explain the source of his ground beef. Maverick Ranch has long been an advocate of ground beef that is freshly ground from primals. If you are not sure and Maverick Ranch grinds are not available, purchase a chuck or round roast or steak and ask the meat manager to grind it in a clean grinder.
• Be aware that TSE diseases can possibly be transmitted by surgical instruments and blood transfusions from people who have resided in England. Also, pharmaceuticals could possibly carry the disease.
• If you are a diabetic taking insulin, determine whether your insulin is from hogs or cattle. Insulin from hogs may have an extra degree of safety.
• Deer and elk hunters should use precaution when dressing animals killed in areas where Chronic Wasting Disease is known to be present.
• When traveling in Europe, eat only steaks, roasts and ground beef made from whole muscle. Do not eat beef brains or heart. Heart could contain parts of brain or spinal column, in the event that the wrong type of stun gun was used at the processing facility.

HOOF AND MOUTH DISEASE

  Hoof-and-Mouth Disease is caused by a highly infectious virus that can cause death or disabling blisters and sores in and around the mouth, muzzle, teats and feet of livestock with cloven or "split" hooves. HOOF & MOUTH IS NOT CONTAGIOUS TO HUMANS! Cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and possibly deer and elk are susceptible and can exhibit clinical disease signs after an incubation period of only three to eight days. The disease has not appeared in the United States since 1929 and was eradicated in Canada in 1952. The virus is among the most contagious and easily spread of any virus affecting domestic meat animals.

  Outbreaks of Hoof-and-Mouth have primarily occurred in South America and Europe at various intervals over the past century. The virus has recently erupted in England, several other European countries, and Argentina. The spread is often very rapid and the results devastating to agriculture.

  With today's widespread travel, there is a great risk to the meat industry in disease-free countries. The virus is known to live for about four days on clothes, shoes, animals and even wind drift. Furthermore, humans can carry the virus by inhaling it into their lungs. Travelers arriving in the United States from other countries with known cases of Hoof-and-Mouth outbreaks are questioned and their shoes sanitized. The U.S. is considering a vaccination program in the event that Hoof-and-Mouth continues to spread in Europe. This would be an enormous project even if enough vaccine were made available.

  Unfortunately, there is no known cure for Hoof-and-Mouth. If an animal becomes infected, it must be slaughtered and burned, lest it infect other animals. The United States government has done a good job of keeping Hoof-and-Mouth out of the U.S. for over 70 years.