Consumer confidence in U.S. beef remains strong despite high awareness of the diagnosis of BSE (commonly known as mad cow disease) in a Canadian cow on May 20, 2003.
According to a national poll conducted in late May by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, 81 percent of Americans said they had recently heard something about 'mad cow disease' with most citing the Canadian situation. Eighty-five percent of respondents said they were confident U.S. beef is safe.
The United States has placed Canada under its BSE restriction guidelines and will not accept any beef products from Canada pending further investigation. This temporary ban is consistent with the U.S. response to other countries that have detected BSE.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) supports the current actions of the federal government, including the USDA and FDA, which have authority and jurisdiction over such international animal health issues.
Dan Wyant, director of the MDA, said these are important precautionary measures to take until investigators know more about what initially appears to be an isolated case in Canada. "MDA will continue to work closely with its federal, state, local, university and industry partners to maintain the safety and wholesomeness of our state and nation's food supply," Wyant said.
Extensive safeguards, referred to as the "triple firewall," have been put in place over the past 14 years to prevent the possibility of BSE in the United States.
The U.S. is the primary destination for Canadian beef exports. Of the 1.2 million metric tons of beef exported by Canada in 2002, 83 percent of the product was destined for U.S. markets. During 1999 to 2002, the United States imported more than 180 thousand tons per year of cattle feed from Canada. BSE has never been found in the United States, despite an aggressive surveillance program - 19,990 cattle were tested in 2002 using a targeted surveillance program. | 
