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Experts Declare "Mad Cow" Emergency Over in Italy
An international conference of scientists in Turin on Friday declared the "Mad Cow" emergency over, saying that the public could now eat beef without fear.
The European Union had created an adequate system of controls which would stop cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) from entering the food chain, the conference concluded.
EU rules which came into effect at the start of 2001 make it obligatory for all cattle over 30 months to be tested after slaughter. Meat cuts including bones, brains and parts of the intestine have also been banned.
The 33 cases of BSE discovered in Italy this year during over 300,000 tests were cause for relief rather than alarm, said Federico Valenza, professor of veterinary anatomical disease at the University of Turin.
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