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(Lincoln, NE) Gov. Dave Heineman learned this afternoon that further analysis of samples from an animal tested late last year, which were retested earlier this month, returned a positive result for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that tests conducted in Weybridge, England confirmed a case of BSE in an animal. The Governor urged Nebraskans to remember that a positive result is not an indication of an unsafe U.S. meat supply.
“The fact that the animal was destroyed and did not enter the food chain is a clear indication that the safeguards put in place to protect the human food chain and animal feed supply are working,” Gov. Heineman said. “Nebraskans need to understand how comprehensive our safety measures truly are.
“The USDA has in place numerous science-based safeguards to protect consumers. I want consumers to know that my family and I will continue to eat Nebraska and U.S. beef, confident in the knowledge that it is safe.”
BSE testing was stepped up shortly after the discovery of the first case of the disease in December 2003.
“Today’s results and the wealth of knowledge available should build confidence,” Gov. Heineman said. “More than 388,000 animals have been tested as part of the enhanced BSE surveillance system in the U.S. This is the only confirmed case since testing began, which points to a very low occurrence of the disease in the U.S. herd.”
Greg Ibach, director of Nebraska’s Department of Agriculture, said, “We support Secretary Johanns’ effort to bring our testing in line with accepted evolving worldwide standards.”
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