Mad cow disease - any risk of it in Indonesia?

Mad cow disease - any risk of it in Indonesia?

By Tri Hafiningsih

JAKARTA (JP): For many Indonesians, eating slices of deep
fried beef brain, beef liver sauteed in hot chili sauce, tongue
steak, a bowl of oxtail soup or tripe curry are culinary treats.

Cuts of meat and entrails that end up as pet food or cattle
feed in parts of western Europe and the United States are
delicacies here.

And almost no part of the animal goes to waste.

From head to hoof, the entire carcass is used. Besides the
meat, tongue, brain, heart, liver and innards, bones and bone
marrow are used for broth for soup. The skin is fried up for
crackers.

Housewife Dewi buys beef bones several times a week at the
traditional market in Jatinegara, East Jakarta, to make soup for
her family. She asks the butcher to chop the backbone into small
pieces to be used for the broth.

It makes a quick, delicious and economical meal for her family
of four, much cheaper than using meat.

"It's really nice to suck the marrow out of the backbone after
you've finished your soup," she said.

In some other parts of the world, it would be unthinkable
today to feast on beef marrow or innards. Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE), generally known as mad cow disease, has
forced many former beef lovers to think twice about eating the
meat.

Since it was first reported in the mid-1980s in Britain, BSE
has been detected in at least six countries in Europe. Hardest
hit of all was Britain, which saw its once flourishing beef
industry collapse under international bans.

BSE, which destroys the brains of cattle until they resemble
sponges, is believed to also be a trigger for a new variant of
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, which mostly affects young
people. At least 90 people, mostly in Britain, have come down
with the brain-wasting disease since 1986.

"There may be no reported cases of BSE here, but we still have
to be careful, or we could never prevent it becoming widespread
if it reaches Indonesia," said Mangku Sitepoe, a veterinarian,
general practitioner and former agriculture ministry official who
has written a book on the disease.

The Directorate General of Animal Husbandry of the Ministry of
Agriculture banned all imports of cattle meat and some products
derived from it, including medicine and cosmetics, from countries
in western Europe with recorded cases of BSE in 1996.

Only imports of "deboned meat", including beef liver, are
allowed, from the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

But despite beef still being more expensive than chicken and
goat meat, Mangku said increasing demand might lead to the import
of meat from countries other than the United States and
Australia.

He stressed precautions and law enforcement were required to
ensure the meat was fit for human consumption, "but we just have
to be alert and well-informed on the issue, there's no need to
panic".

He expressed concern that the increasing demand for imported
meat due to decreasing domestic production could lead to
violations and sidestepping of regulations.

New markets are already being tapped for beef imports.

In December the agriculture ministry approved the import of
frozen beef from Ireland to meet demand during the Idul Fitri,
Christmas and New Year's holidays. The Office Internationale
Epizooties International, which is the international body
concerning livestock, has reportedly recorded BSE cases in
Ireland.

Officials from the agriculture ministry argued that the office
had since verified that meat from Ireland was safe for
consumption.

Not an issue

Local restaurants specializing in steak and beef dishes say
BSE is not an issue for them at present.

Winda Lesmana of the purchasing department of Gandy Steak
House on Jl. Hayam Wuruk, Central Jakarta, said that the
restaurant only served quality meat imports from United States
and Australia.

For Gandy, it is a case of business as usual. "We don't have
to worry so much. After all, we don't import any meat from
Europe," Winda said.

But some well-off consumers are also looking at other items on
the menu instead of their regular beef choices.

An employee of a large office goods supplier in the capital,
Rina, said she was avoiding imported meat and only consuming
local beef.

She added that she and her husband cut down on meals at
restaurants in five-star hotels and steak eateries since learning
of the mad cow scare last year.

"Maybe we just have to switch to seafood or chicken instead,"
she said.