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Gyu-tan Safety Q & A

Is it safe to consume beef meat (beef tongue) and milk?

According to research that is conducted by U.K. researchers. The mad cow disease only
infected several cow organs such as (brain, spinal cord, distal ileum, eye). The other parts
from cow are not infected by mad-cow-disease. The research was conducted by using
mouse as a testing target. All organs from a cow, which was infected by mad-cow disease was given to mouse. And the infection only happened when mouse eat brain, spinal cord
and distal ileum eye from infected cow. So with other word, Beef and milk are safe from
mad-cow disease.

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What is the limit of abnormal prion (pathogenic bacteria) right before it become an infection?

Up until now, There aren’t that kind of research yet. So there is no exact amount or limit  
about how much abnormal prion (pathogenic bacteria) can be consume or absorbed by
human body until it becomes an infection.
In an experiment, It doesn’t mean that if we consume or absorb the same amount of
abnormal prion, we will be infected by that disease. Because there are a lot of people who are not infected.
Actually, abnormal prion is neutralized and decomposed by human organ naturally. So the abnormal prion become harmless. But, the abnormal prion is absorbed by the body without any processes also exist. In other case, the abnormal protein is not being neutralized nor
processed at all, but just transport through the body and then being secreted.

Among 4 mad-cow disease infected organs, even if we eat them, we, human have first
protection in our mouth. After passing the first protections in our mouth, the chance
pathogenic bacteria enter our body is about 1/100000. The probability is very small, so it is very difficult for our body to be infected by those pathogenic bacteria. Because of this
reason, U.S. disapproved blanked testing toward all cows in there.

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What is the probability Infection in Human?

Because of different species between cow and human, the mad-cow disease infection in
human is very difficult. The probability mad-cow infection in human is very low, compare
with mad-cow disease infection probability in cow. In U.K., among 180.000 mad-cow
disease outbreak, the incidence of vCJD in humans has been one in 5 million.

Based on this fact and this data, mad-cow disease outbreak in Japan is nothing compare
with U.K.. In addition, in Japan, Blanket test is performed. So this reduces the risk
significantly. Besides that, In Japan, the brain cow is not consumed by people. So the risk mad-cow disease in Japan is very small.

According to Prof. Yoshikawa from Tokyo University, the probability mad-cow disease
infection in human is 0.005~0.007. According to Kondo Professor from Open University of
Japan, from 3 mad-cow disease infected cow, the probability infection in human is
1/(6x1011).

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Is there any possibility mad-cow disease can infect any other animal except human and cow?
  1. There is a theory that explains Mad-cow disease infection in human is a variant from
    Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The causal relationship between them still can’t be
    explained yet.
  2. Until now, In UK, there are 100 people infected by mad-cow disease, in France and
    Ireland, there are 120 people infected by mad-cow disease. While in Japan, There is
    still no case yet. In UK, there are around 180000 cows that are being infected by
    mad-cow disease and the brain and spinal cord from infected cow was consumed by
    human. That is the mad-cow disease infection in human causality.
  3. There is still no case mad-cow disease infection in Pork or chicken and any other
    animals except cow. Additionally, even we give the infected part from cow to pig or
    chicken, they weren’t infected. Although there is a similar disease in goat, sheep and
    similar species, this disease is different with mad-cow disease.

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