Commenting on 'mad-cow'

By The Associated Press

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Federal officials yesterday afternoon announced that a dairy cow slaughtered for meat in Washington state had tested positive for "mad-cow" disease. Here is what people are saying:

"Today we received word from USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, that a single Holstein cow from Washington state has tested as presumptive positive for BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), or what is widely known as 'mad-cow' disease. Despite this finding, we remain confident in the safety of our food supply. The risk to human health from BSE is extremely low."

— U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman

"The infectious agent is only found in the central nervous system tissue. None of that made it into the beef supply. ... We feel confident, and I'm certainly having beef for dinner on Christmas Eve."

— Patti Brumbach, executive director of the Washington State Beef Commission

"We test 20,000 samples last year for BSE, and this is the first positive. I'm not terribly concerned that there's a lot of BSE out there. This is a good example of the system actually working."

— Bill Brookreson, deputy director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture

"It does weigh on the minds of the consumer, but I think a lot of the consumers' decisions are based on the trust they have in the places where they spend their money."

— Greg Stormans, vice president of Ralph's Thriftway in Olympia

"This investigation will be very, very thorough. We need to find out what happened to the meat."

— Gov. Gary Locke

"I don't think we have a clue as to how this breaking news on BSE will affect the restaurant business. I think it is way too early to be speculating. According to the USDA, this appears to be an isolated incident, and swift action is being taken. There is no cause for public alarm; this is not a food-safety issue."

— Gene Vosberg, president and CEO of the Washington Restaurant Association

"It wouldn't stop me from eating meat. It would make me more cautious."

— Cheryl Anderson, Seattle resident

"I feel safe. I eat more fish and chicken and pork than I do beef anyway."

— Max Taylor of Bickleton, Klickitat County, who works for a wheat farm

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