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Mad Cow Disease and the risk it poses for humans (and,
of course, animals) has affected a number of countries,
including England, Canada, and now the United States.
Mad Cow Disease (technically known as bovine spongiform
encephalopathy or BSE) is a chronic degenerative disease
affecting the central nervous system of cattle. The concern
for humans is the risk of eating meat or meat products
that contain the BSE pathogen. When the BSE pathogen takes
hold in people, it can trigger a variant form of the disease
called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease (vCJD), named after the researchers who identified
it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(www.cdc.gov) "... in the United Kingdom, this current
risk [of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease] appears to be extremely
small, perhaps about 1 case per 10 billion servings [of
beef]." It also states that "Milk and milk products
from cows are not believed to pose any risk for transmitting
the BSE agent." While the human toll is infinitesimally
small when compared with many other known potentially
serious diseases, from malaria to AIDS and even the flu,
scientists and the public are still concerned.
While it is important to pay attention to the issue of
Mad Cow Disease in relation to eating beef products, the
question is whether or not bovine-derived ingredients
used in cosmetics can harbor the disease and cause health
risks. The answer is that no one knows for sure, but theoretically
a remote possible risk does exist. Some researchers feel
that there is no evidence BSE can be contracted through
the skin (Source: Cosmetic Dermatology, December 2001,
pages 43–47); however, neither cooking, preserving, or
any of the other processing most cosmetics go through
can eliminate BSE pathogens. That means if animal by-products
are used in cosmetics (in particular placenta and spleen
bovine extracts), they can pose a risk, albeit remote,
to the user. The British BSE Committee (http://www.bse.org.uk/)
in varying reports has mentioned a concern that people
could become infected if the creams were used on broken
skin. It is important to realize that very few products
use animal-derived ingredients. Even collagen and elastin,
which in the past were routinely derived from cow skin,
are now almost entirely derived from plants.
If you are thinking of buying any cosmetics that contain
animal organ extracts of any kind, you may want to reconsider,
or discard them if you have already made a purchase, particularly
those products containing extracts of spleen, placenta,
or other animal tissue. Other than that, at this point,
I feel strongly that it isn't necessary to worry about
the other ingredients on your cosmetics labels. Aside
from the evidence, which does not point to a single case
of BSE associated with cosmetics, checking the ingredient
label wouldn't be of much help anyway because there is
no way to know whether the collagen or ceramide in your
product is sourced from animals or plants. I want to stress
that from all the research that is out there, this appears
to be a negligible issue for your beauty routine.
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