Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or Mad Cow Disease) 

For the most up-to-date information about BSE, visit United States Department of Agriculture's Open in a New WindowAnimal Plant Health Inspection Service website.

The United States established proactive policies, regulations and laws to protect Americans and U.S. cattle from BSE after the disease originated in Europe in the 1980s. Actions taken by USDA are summarized in a Open in a New Windowtimeline that dates back to 1988. USDA also commissioned the Open in a New WindowHarvard Center for Risk Analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of those measures. In its 2001 report, the center concluded that measures taken by the U.S. make it highly unlikely that BSE will become established in this country.

BSE in cattle poses an extremely low food safety risk to consumers, so the discovery of the disease in the United States does not present a significant food safety concern. Consumers with questions or concerns about BSE may contact USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service to speak with a food safety specialist -- in English or Spanish -- from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on weekdays year-round. An extensive menu of recorded food safety messages may be heard 24 hours a day. Dial the nationwide toll-free number 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854). The toll-free number for the hearing impaired (TTY) is 1-800-256-7072. The hotline is closed on federal government holidays

The United States prides itself on having one of the safest and most wholesome food supplies in the world, and the Kansas Department of Agriculture plays a critical role in ensuring that our nation maintains that status. Our Meat and Poultry Inspection program prevents from entering the food supply any animal products that could be considered a health hazard. Our Agricultural Commodities Assurance program contributes to food safety by ensuring that inputs to agriculture are safe, quality products.

BSE is believed to be transmitted to cattle through feed containing protein from an infected animal. Once feed was identified as the method of transmission, the Open in a New WindowU.S. Food and Drug Administration adopted regulations to prohibit feeding most mammalian proteins to ruminants (cud-chewing animal like cows, sheep and goats) and to establish good manufacturing practices that feed mills abide by to prevent commingling prohibited materials with ruminant feed.

The Kansas Legislature adopted current FDA regulations and the Kansas Department of Agriculture's inspectors enforce them. We inspect all feed milling and rendering facilities, focusing on:

  • labeling of feed containing prohibited material
  • procedures that prevent commingling prohibited material with feed products
  • record keeping to trace product origin, uses and ultimate destination

Inspectors target those facilities that have prohibited materials on-site to verify that records are being kept as required by law and that products containing prohibited material are adequately marked with a precautionary statement. The Kansas Department of Agriculture lab also has equipment that can detect traces of prohibited material in feed samples. Testing is an added measure to verify feed is free of prohibited materials.

To learn more about BSE and the Kansas Department of Agriculture's regulatory programs, please see our BSE Surveillance and Prevention and BSE Prevention Through Feed Inspection fact sheets.

To learn more about BSE and measures taken to prevent its spread in the United States, visit:

Open in a New WindowUnited States Department of Agriculture
Open in a New WindowUSDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service
Open in a New WindowUSDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service
Open in a New WindowUSDA Surveillance for BSE
Open in a New WindowU.S. Food and Drug Administration
Open in a New WindowHarvard Center for Risk Analysis
Open in a New WindowCenters for Disease Control
Open in a New WindowWorld Health Organization
Open in a New WindowOffice International des Epizooties

Other useful links:

Open in a New WindowKansas Animal Health Department
Open in a New WindowKansas Department of Health and Environment
Open in a New WindowKansas Livestock Association
Open in a New WindowNational Cattlemen’s Beef Association BSE Informat