British officials advised the public in mid June to avoid mutton, goat and some sausages due to an animal brain disease affecting sheep that may pose a risk to humans. The Times of London reports the disease is similar to classic scrapie, a brain-wasting disease in sheep that hasn't raised concerns for humans until now. The nation's Food Standard Agency (FSA) says, as it can't rule out the risk of
Advertisement
British officials advised the public in mid June to avoid mutton, goat and some sausages due to an animal brain disease affecting sheep that may pose a risk to humans. The Times of London reports the disease is similar to classic scrapie, a brain-wasting disease in sheep that hasn't raised concerns for humans until now.
The nation's Food Standard Agency (FSA) says, as it can't rule out the risk of the atypical scrapie on human health, it's updating guidance to shoppers. It also plans to ask the European Commission to immediately introduce new labeling rules to identify products containing mutton.
No beefs with “natural” gains
| Sales in $ | % change in $ vs. year ago | Equivalized unit volume | EUV %-change vs. year ago | Active UPCs1 | New UPCs1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total fresh beef | $654,871,965 | 8.9% | 144,726,183 | 6.2% | 351 | 65 |
| Branded beef | $355,217,606 | 8.3% | 77,078,780 | 6.1% | 285 | 55 |
| -without natural claim on label | $285,391,795 | 1.3% | 62,490,070 | 0.1% | 246 | 44 |
| -with natural claim on label | $69,825,811 | 50.8% | 14,588,710 | 43.4% | 39 | 11 |
| Private-label beef | $299,654,359 | 9.7% | 67,647,403 | 6.4% | 66 | 10 |
| 1Universal Product Code, Source: ACNielsen LabelTrends, Total U.S. food, drug, mass merchandiser stores (excluding Wal-Mart). 52 weeks ending March 25, 2006. Pre-packaged, UPC-coded products only. | ||||||