Mad cow scare unlikely to affect dining services, clubs

Though a mad cow disease scare in Washington State has caused Japan and Russia to suspend importation of U.S. beef, University officials say there is no danger of contaminated beef here in Princeton.

"There doesn't seem to be any significant risk at all," said University sanitarian Donald Robasser.

"The majority of our meat comes from the Midwest," and none comes from the far West, said Stuart Orefice, head of the Department of Dining Services.

In the past, Orefice said, the University bought meat from Oregon, but dining services has not "purchased from that area of the country in years."

Instead, most of the University's meat comes from different packers in Ohio.

In addition, a significant portion of the University's beef is not "boxed beef" but "fresh beef" bought from a local butcher whose meat is inspected by the USDA daily, said Orefice.

Eating clubs do not appear to have made policy changes either. Charter Club manager Steve Moskow said that the club's meat is bought from many vendors all over the country, but that no change will be made until a need arises.

In late December, a cow slaughtered in Washington was found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease.

BSE is a brain-wasting disease that can cause a similar fatal sickness called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans who eat beef from contaminated cows. BSE first became a problem for Europe in recent decades, and the recent case in Washington is the first known appearance in the United States.

However, the contaminated meat is only believed to have been sent to eight western states and Guam, so there is no apparent danger in New Jersey. Students have no reason to worry, Robasser said.

"I think it's a miniscule hazard at this point anywhere," he said, especially for "meat that's processed in this part of the country."

Even in states where the contaminated meat was sent, there is no significant danger for consumers. In 1997, the U.S. banned including in animal feel any brains and spinal cords, which transmit the disease.