Free Republic

Defense Department officials remain confident that beef products in operational rations, served in military mess halls or sold in commissaries are safe. This updated assessment comes in the wake of the first disease case diagnosed at a Washington state farm Dec. 23. That sparked nationwide concern about beef safety in the United States. More than 30 countries have since banned the import of U.S. beef. Known formally as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE – mad cow is a brain-wasting disease of cattle that affects the animal's nervous system and eats away its brain. In humans, the disease has been linked...

NEWS RELEASE Defense Commissary Agency Office of Corporate Communications 1300 E Avenue Fort Lee, VA 23801-1800 Tel: (804) 734 8061 DSN: 687-8061 FAX: (804) 734-8248 DSN: 687-8248 www. commissaries. com Release Number: 82-03 Date: December 30, 2003 Contact: Flo Dunn, Media Relations Tel.: (804) 734-8768 E-mail: florence. dunn@ deca. mil Commissary officials sensitive to beef concerns By Bonnie Powell, bonnie. powell@ deca. mil FORT LEE, Va. – Officials at the Defense Commissary Agency are closely monitoring the ever-changing situation involving a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as "mad cow" disease, identified Dec. 23 in a single cow...