BSE & Human Health

Many steps have been taken in Canada to protect humans from Mad Cow disease or BSE. In Canada, BSE is a low risk to humans. The most important step taken is the removal of specified risk materials (SRM) - from all cattle at slaughter.

This means that when cattle are prepared for food, the parts of the cow most likely to contain BSE are removed and do not go into our food. This removes almost all of the risk (over 99%) that could be present if an animal has BSE.

Canadians can also be confident in the safety of beef because scientific research from around the world shows that BSE is not transmitted through muscle meat, like roasts and steaks. Muscle meat is considered safe by Health Canada and international health agencies such as the World Health Organization. A further food safety step is the inspection of cattle at all federally inspected facilities.

For more information on specified risk materials, visit Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.