Mad Cow Disease detected in California cow

At Joe’s Butcher Shop and Fish Market in Carmel, customers said they make a point of buying meat from a man they know. Joe’s meats are grain-fed and antibiotic free.

“I trust where he buys his meat from and sea food and poultry and the quality is always good when I buy anything here,” said shopper Lisa Baldwin.

Quality control is likely what led to the discovery of the first case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in the United States since 2006. The disease, often called Mad Cow Disease, was detected in a dairy cow in California.

The United States Department of Agriculture tests thousands of cattle each year for the disease. The department assured consumers there is no threat to the meat market.

"They should know that this animal was never presented for slaughter. It never even came close to entering the food chain," said Joe Moore, Executive Vice President of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association.

Many people remember the outbreak in the United Kingdom in 1993, when according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1,000 cows were coming down with the disease per week.

Since that time, Moore said, the United States government has passed laws preventing the spread and the cause of the disease. It’s now illegal to feed cattle leftover parts of cow carcasses.

"The USDA put a lot of new regulations into effect and one of them was the new feed ban. Prior to '93 there was ruminant material in cattle feed and after '93 that was banned,” said Moore.

The government focuses on testing “high risk” cattle which are typically dairy cows because they live longer. Cows that go to slaughter within 30 months are thought to be “low risk.” The disease can not be passed to humans through milk.