Child Care Health Program
Safety of serving beef to children at childcare centers
| Date: |
January 15, 2004 |
| To: |
Public Health Childcare Team and other interested staff |
| From: |
Sharon Hopkins, DVM, MPH, Public Health Veterinarian |
| RE: |
Safety of serving beef to children at childcare centers |
As we all learn about the recent diagnosis of a cow with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease), we have heard that some parents/guardians have expressed concern about their children being served beef at childcare centers. Available information suggests the beef supply is quite safe from BSE, and that the risk of contracting the human form of BSE (known as variant Creutzkfeldt-Jakob disease, or vCJD) from beef products is extremely low.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) it is exceedingly unlikely that anyone could contract vCJD from the beef supply at this time. Public Health has no information to the contrary.
Pertinent facts:
- In the United States only one cow has been diagnosed with BSE; this was the cow from Mabton, WA diagnosed in December 2003. In Great Britain more than one million cows are estimated to have had BSE during the 1990s, which resulted in a cumulative total of 153 human cases of vCJD. This suggests that it is very rare for the disease to "jump" into the human population.
- The outbreak in Great Britain demonstrated that BSE is transmitted to cows through the consumption of feed containing rendered parts from infected cows. After a ban on using bovine parts in animal feed in Britain, the incidence of both bovine BSE and human cases dropped precipitously. The U.S. instituted such a feed ban in 1997.
- Meat and meat products from the BSE-affected cow were recalled from distributors and restaurants and have been removed from sale.
- There is no evidence that cow's milk can carry the BSE infection.
- In the wake of the first BSE case in the U.S., the USDA strengthened safeguards by immediately banning "downer" cows from the human food chain. Other meat production safety measures and increased surveillance for BSE cases in cattle will also be undertaken.
- There have been no cases of human vCJD disease acquired in the United States. By contrast, other food borne illnesses such as Salmonella and E. coli are common, resulting in an estimated 325,00 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths each year in the US. In Washington State in 1993, 477 people were infected with E. coli O157:H7 from eating contaminated, undercooked hamburger, and several children died or became disabled due to the infection.
Some people have chosen to eliminate beef altogether from their diets due to personal concerns about BSE. Others have chosen to continue to eat beef muscle cuts (like steaks and roasts) but to eliminate those beef products that are likelier to contain the central nervous system parts of the cow where the BSE infectious agent is found. According to CDC, these products include brains, ground hamburger, and sausage-type foods (like hot dogs) containing beef.
As part of our efforts to encourage consumer awareness of all food products, we urge parents and childcare administrators to consider the facts given above to educate themselves about the safety of beef consumption. However, even though the risk of contracting vCJD from the U.S. beef supply is extremely low, some parents may choose to forgo serving their children beef or beef products, and some childcare centers may chose to do so because of parental concerns. These might be temporary actions while additional facts are learned and the USDA institutes additional meat production safeguards.
We support the decisions parents/guardians make regarding beef by reminding caregivers that nutritionally adequate substitutes are available, if concern over beef consumption exists.
For more information, please consult the following web sites, or you may request printed copies of this information by calling the Environmental Health section at 206-205-4394. I am available for consultation on BSE risks at the same number or by e-mail at sharon.hopkins@metrokc.gov.
