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I have never stopped eating British Beef, and never will. The whole thing has been blown totally out of proportion. I was surprised to read that there have been only 27 fatalities from BSE in the last 13 years, which in all honesty is not that many considering the Media attention it has gathered. I know that nvCJD is a tragic disease, and I do spare a thought for families affected by it, but we must all realise that much has been done to eradicate the problem and the ban should be lifted completely. There is no question that British Beef will now be much safer than it was before. And as for the Germans voting against the re-introduction of British Beef, typical!
Chris, UK

Maybe don't eat as much but NEVER stopped eating it all together. I love roast beef and the kids love burgers. If we took any notice of all the scares - what would we eat? I was brought up on things like oxtail, which I absolutely adore and can't buy now because it's on the bone, which of course is banned. That annoys me because I'm 41 and my freedom of choice has been made for me.
Kay, UK

Where's the proof that the beef is safe?
Laura, Australia

Yes, I would definitely eat British beef. I believe the seriousness of the problem was just a little out of proportion to the problem. I think the beef producers have paid too heavy a price already.
Josey Warren, USA

I will be eating British Beef. If we don't back our own farmers then our country will be in tatters.
Ross Parker, UK

British beef is fine, I never stopped eating it and like the millions of others all over the world who have eaten it I'm perfectly ok. It's just more stupid EU over the top saftey concern, and another example of why we would be best off out of the EU.
Alex Stanway, UK

We actually gave up eating red meat on a regular basis some years before BSE arrived. However, if we had not I would certainly have no problem eating British beef. It must now be the safest in the world. We live in a farming area and the horror stories of the last few years (including suicides) and contining economic pain has given rise to a great respect for our farmers. It is time to impose the same controls on imported beef as no exist for British beef. Beware some Europeans who are lip service citizens and exploit the high British standards of compliance while they say one thing and continually do another.
Geoffrey Home, UK

After imposing all the restrictions that might be applicable to a British farmer do you still suppose that they would produce anything unhealthy? Britsh beef shall be the safest beef I shall be eating in the future.. Other EU members should check themselves about the same..
Ertugrul Kasaci, Turkey

No. Much as I love a good roast, I think the risks are simply too great and the price too high for a few minutes of culinary satisfaction. I know that the scientists have done tests, etc., however, unless the whole the whole industry starts from scratch, it's simply too much of a risk.
Pat Richards Canada

Of course. British beef is probably the safest in the world now. I certainly wouldn't touch meat produced on the European continent - whether edible or not!
Peter Wallace, Brazil

We were lied to by the government a few years ago in that it was said there was no danger from eating British beef. Recently we have been told there is a danger. How many victims of CJD do we need to have before our own intelligence tells us its a game of lottery. I eat British beef because I think as I have been eating it for so long now, its likely that if I was going to get it, I probably have by now.
Maurice Kellett, UK

I have been living in the U.S for 10 years and yearn to come home to sausages and big Sunday roasts. Food in America is so bland due to all the chemicals they spray to kill bugs. As usual we are the fall out for the rest of the peasant farmers in Europe who envy everything that is Britain.
Nick Fury, USA

Other European countries are kidding themselves that BSE does not exist in their cattle stocks. With free movement of beef cattle before the ban how could Continental Europe be not be effected by this disease? Considering that the disease has a long incubation period, no matter how efficient the trackability systems of these countries are, some infected meat will fall through the net.
Andy Brown, United Kingdom

Britain has taken very long before even accepting that there was a problem. Given this, how can consumers have confidence and start eating British beef again? The British beef sector has made a successful suicide attempt.
Lerner, Belgium

Beef is not safe, neither is lamb. Why should we risk our lives to help a government on the run.
Alex Marley, UK

I believe that British beef is definitely a lot safer than it used to be, with the introduction of new checks and the culling program. CJD is a terrifying disease, and the deaths of its victims are tragic, but the damage has already been done. I think now we should return to eating British beef, and try to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.
Martin Long, UK

We don't believe that the testing is sufficient. Can we trust the safety of the British beef industry?
ISP 12th Grade Biology IB High, France

With the extensive restrictions now imposed on British farmers, there can be no doubt that British beef is the best you can buy. As a farmer's daughter I may be biased, but in my opinion, if you have any doubts, be sure that British beef is now the safest in the world.
Susan Breeze, Wales/Greece

All my life I have held Britain and the British in the highest esteem. With their behaviour on the matter of the beef somehow made me very reserved towards their methods and their truthfulness. I shall wait to see how they behave and how honest and proper they will be in the future and then I shall eat their meat again.
G. Athanassoulis, Greece

Let's get this in perspective. 27 people have so far died of CJD in nearly ten years of supposed risk. More people will probably die of stress-related illness due to the ban (i.e. those in the farming industry) than from eating British beef. It is tragic that those 27 have died from CJD, but I think it is high time that the ban was lifted.
Matthew Wilde, Britain

I am not an expert in the BSE crisis, but my dad is a beef farmer and I know that his livelihood has been badly hit by the European ban. Since the ban was imposed and the consumer was made aware of the threat of BSE, supermarkets have been importing cheap beef from other countries. For example Argentina. The regulations are not as strict as they are in Britain and it is questionable whether or not the beef has met the required standards, and if there have been any checks at all.
So, all I would like to say is, that over the past few months the British consumer has had no idea whatsoever where the imported beef has come from and if it is BSE free. So, they may have been eating contaminated beef and they didn't even realise. Are we any better off?
Joy Aiken, France

My husband and I have never stopped eating British beef. My opinion on it is, that if you've been eating beef for years anyway, you'll either have CJD or not and stopping eating beef will not make any difference. In fact, my husband and I benefitted greatly from the reduction in the price of beef during the main part of the scare and enjoyed every minute of it. We only moved to the USA six months ago and British beef is about 100 times nicer and more trustworthy than US beef.
Mrs Ann-Marie Mair USA

After eating beef for the past 30 years with no ill effects I certainly will continue.
Debbie Hayes, UK

I would not eat British beef due to unacceptable standards of quality control practised in Britan for beef.
Udayraj Nair, USA

I am an ex-pat living in Sydney, so the views expressed have been formed in the UK and not Australia. I feel that this whole BSE issue is utterly ludicrous. I have until recently been a student, and as a result I am quite possibly in the highest 'risk' category as far as acquiring BSE is concerned (all of those burger vans). I know BSE can take years to manifest itself, and that there is a chance that I may already have it. If this is the case there is not a lot I can do about it. Surely now that the government has destroyed thousands of cattle (many needlessly), the risks must have diminished further still. As a result, the chances of anyone catching this disease are slimmer than being hit by lightning, but possibly more on a par with the chances of winning the lottery or England winning the Ashes this year. Do we live in such a feeble society that everything has to be decided for us?
Ian Ferguson, Australia

It has long been recognised that the controls on British farmers are far more vigorous than in any other country. I think it should also be remebered that this whole episode was the result of a relaxing of controls on rendering by companies not directly involved in farming. It was just the poor old farmers who got the blame. I think the way the media has reported the whole affair has not helped. 'Mad Cow Disease', for example. I have heard some different names for Aids, but never heard them used by the media. Unfortunately this is just another example of the British farmers getting bashed, the Germans still showing the massive grudge they have always shown to the British and the usual lack of support from our own government.
John Herbert, Canada

British beef is probably the safest in the world. All the checks and regulations ensure this. Foreign beef has not been subjected to anything as rigorous.
Howard Martin, UK

I am German living in Sweden for 5 years. Beside that I am Meat technologist (BSc).The thing is that 'meat' is political and emotional. Each country thinks it has the best one and that is communicated everywhere. Give the British, Swedish and Germans their beef and let them believe that it is BSE free. Who can ever give a guarantee anyway? And why stop now when we could have got the disease already 8 years ago?
Michael Przytulla, Sweden

I am not quite comfortable in the belief that the techniques that caused BSE to be a problem have been resolved to my satisfaction. More information and consumer education is needed to make me feel confident enough to buy or consume British Beef.
GeorgeEdward Mills, USA

Sure, this is the ultimate case of shutting the door after the horse has bolted. We were all eating the stuff when infections were high. The risk now is minimal. What we should be worried about now is all the hormones fed to animals in the UK and most other countries. This is a far more worrying health risk.
Peter Clift, USA

I see no problem with eating British beef, but I hope that the farmers have learned their lesson and will, in future, refrain from feeding their animals all kinds of rubbish in order to make a fast buck!
J Rogers, UK

It is probably the safest meat to eat, given all the controls that have been introduced.
Jim McVey, USA

Send it as soon as possible! Greek beef is old and underhung, the Dutch is tough and injected with hormones to increase muscle and reduce fat. Result: no taste and no goodness. One may as well chew cardboard. We need good, well-hung, traditional beef - and the butchers who know how to treat a first class product.
John Oakley, Greece

I think everyone has to decide for themselves if they will or will not eat British beef or any other beef. However in my opinion, it is unsafe, and I would not touch meat of any form ever again. The risk is too high.
Claire Sullivan, UK

With the previous lies of the government what assurances can be given?
S.J.Hunt, New Zealand

What is wrong with a plant-based diet?
Luis Rappaport, Australia

I wouldn't eat British beef because I'm a vegetarian. I sincerely wish that more people felt as I do about our fellow beings on this planet.
Ned Vukovic, Canada

British beef is probably as safe as any other EU nation's beef; there have been instances of BSE in other European states, e.g. France, whose farmers also fed their cattle infected feed (which the UK supplied with the full backing of the EU). However, given the choice, I would opt for Argentinian beef which for me tastes better. This choice is not available to me as the supermarkets here only seem to stock British beef.
S.W.Robertson UK

Standards in the British food industry are too low. I've gone off beef completely (you never know!). I would only consider it if it came from controlled organic farming.
Tobia Nalle, Italy

I haven't stopped eating British Beef ever since the scare first surfaced. I believe that I should have the freedom to eat what I want when I want and not be dictated to by this government or any other. I would like British T-bone steak for tea served rare please!
David Sharp, England

Probably safer now than it's ever been.
Jenny Taylor, Australia

Given the checks that have been carried out I see no reason why we should not all resume our previous eating habits regarding British beef. I for one will always eat it.
Claire Lakin. Wales

I believe if there is any risk at all it is very slight. I, however, would still not put myself or my family at risk even though it is slight. This should have been dealt with long ago.
Gillian Hoth, Brit recently moved to USA

Does the public (in the UK and the rest of the world) have a clear explanation of the "proof" that British Beef is safe? I think not.
Philip Roberts, France

I feel that because the UK government kept back information about BSE for so long, I wouldn't trust that that British beef is really free of BSE now.
Alex Rebeling, Sweden

There is nothing like a good T-Bone!
Tony Hallett, UK

The beef crisis was blown out of all proportion when it started and the very notion of not eating beef on the bone, let alone British beef is proposterous.
Garth Roberts, UK

I have never stopped eating beef, during this whole lot of nonsense.
Lisa Steptoe, UK

Beef is and always has been safe. I would like to see the proof that CJD has been passed on from beef.
Claire Iveson, UK

Britain probably has the safest herds in the world - to say that it is not safe would be madness. The risk of catching CJD, if there is a risk, is miniscule. It's like saying "I'm not going to step outside of my house in case I get knocked down".
Danni S, Britain

There is far too much emphasis on protecting the framers livelihood and not enough on protecting consumers. I wouldn't touch British beef.
Kay West, UK

All this talk about British Beef being unsafe is total tosh. The government permits people to smoke and yet the very packets the smoker uses tells them that smoking kills!! It's about time people got things into perspective. Beef is very safe and people should be left to make their choice to eat it if they wish.
David Hester, England

No, because I am not mad and would like to stay that way.
Patrick, UK

I never stopped eating British Beef. I look forward to getting my teeth into a nice T-bone!
Dave Pearson, England

Put it this way, I had rare fillet steak last night.
Geoff Richards, UK

Not eating British beef because you think you're going to die is as ludicrous as buying a lottery ticket and thinking you're going to win. The pleasure of eating a prime cut of fillet steak far outweighs the infinitesimally small chance of contracting a disease. All of you scaremongerers should cross the road, get into your cars and play with your mobile phones. Statistically you should be dead by the end of the week.
Richard S, UK

Odd, I heard not long ago that there was also a BSE problem in other parts of Europe, so why is Britain being singled out because we did something about it? I would eat British beef over and above any other just because of the guidelines we now have in place! If it's any other beef, how do you know where it's been or what's happened to it?!
Leigh Porter, UK

I would not touch any beef products in Europe, not just the UK. As I believe that no matter how low the risk may be, the consequences of eating beef is too high, especially since the consumption of beef is not crucial to our survival. There are many safer alternatives.
Simon Clarke, UK

I really do not care as long as it's medium-rare with fries.
Leigh Porter, UK

The BSE scare is a symptom of a larger problem: the transformation of farms into factories. It's not natural and it's certainly not healthy. Animals suffer, the environment suffers, and now people suffer with CJD, bowel cancer and heart disease. Any logical person would find it an insane proposition to feed a herbivore animal carcass by-products and until farmers treat animals like animals, not factory products, scares like this will continue to happen. I'm happier and healthier being a vegetarian.
Tricia, UK

The inability of the British establishment including the farmers, to absorb the overwhelming scientific evidence supporting the concept of British beef becoming dangerous to eat means that I will never trust British safety statements about the food I eat ever again.
Jon Vernon, England

I wouldn't touch British beef with a barge pole. We, the consumers, have been lied to down hill and dale by the farmers and the previous government. Remember that some retail outlets, after the ban, were mixing beef mince with lamb mince to try and get rid of the beef? To blazes with public safety - as long as the market's OK that's fine isn't it? I have no sympathy with the beef lobby whatsoever.
Simon Coote, UK

I never stopped! I deliberately bought T-bone steaks (on the bone) before the ban came into effect last Christmas.
David Crozier, N Ireland

Just check out the produce of organic meat producers or those producing beef in minimum input regimes. The quality is superb. All UK meat is now young and tender and likely to be presented in the best possible way, ie high quality and low price.
The real issue is how much of it should you be eating anyway, given that a balanced diet with a higher proportion of fruit and veg is considered better anyway? I'll continue to eat UK beef but will buy less but higher quality produce.
Chris Cottrell, UK

The whole thing has been blown out of proportion - our checks are among the best in the EU. And if you thought Germany were harbouring grudges by voting against the reintroduction of our beef - who do you think has taken a large chunk of the British market - yes that's right - Germany.
Rob Docherty, England

I think it is a pity that the British Government let economic issues overshadow health concerns. Now with the BSE inquiry, we see the true picture of a cover up. It was much worse than the world was led to believe. Here in the USA we are setting ourselves up for a similar problem with salmonella in the egg industry. I am glad that my parents taught me the health reasons for being a total vegetarian. I hope the world learns of its advantages before it is too late.
Phil Steinway, USA

I migrated to Australia from the UK in 1996 and hence was around when the BSE situation hit the headlines. I continued to consume British beef throughout the scare. Although there was obviously some scientific evidence that supported the theory that the disease could be passed to humans in a form of CJD - in my opinion, this whole situation was blown out of all proportion by scaremongerers. The disease was also present in other European countries, notably France, who chose to keep quiet and benefit from the demise of the British beef industry. British beef is and always has been as safe as beef and beef products from neighbouring European countries.
Stuart Campbell, Australia

I don't understand how the EU could lift the ban. Mad cow disease can incubate for years and Europe and the whole world for that matter may have to pay dearly for such a decision. The British economy has of course suffered from the ban, but it could be that the European treasuries will eventually suffer from trying to finance the public health fiasco this latest decision will create.
Raifa Sul, UAE

Certainly I would eat British beef if I could get it. I would eat a lot of British and English things if I could get them, but the free market does not seem to be operating as yet. Maybe with the euro, if England joins, things will be better.
Dr Rodney C Simmonds, Austria

Throughout the whole of the beef crisis I have continued to eat beef. Not only has it been of better quality, due to the surplus supplies, but it has also been cheaper in many steak houses.
People have to balance the risks in society, for example road traffic accidents, consumption of alcohol and the use of many under-tested drugs etc, against the risks of eating a piece of meat!
It really does seem silly that this one over-publicised issue has caused such a storm when many, many other risks are taken on a daily basis. Therefore, in my own personal risk assessment the eating of beef is very minimal in comparison to the other daily risks.
However, now that 'according to the government' it is safe again I am taking no risk, but I could still get knocked down tomorrow - so that's life!
Jill Culbard, Scotland/UK

Of course I'd eat British beef! I was eating it at the end of the 80s and beginning of the 90s when BSE was supposedly rife so why shouldn't I eat it now when it's probably safer than ever. Everyone knows that BSE is not endemic to Britain but we made convenient scapegoats. British beef farmers have been punished enough without the scaremongerers continuing.
Alex L, UK

Being from a farming background I'm probably a bit biased, but I honestly believe that the vast majority of British beef has been safe all along. If only the herds from which infected cows had been found had been destroyed, the whole mess would have been resolved long ago and my family wouldn't have had to spend lots of money of safeguards that only needed to be implemented because of government incompetence.
Henry Parker, UK

I don't trust the controls performed by EU. After all there are plenty of examples that farmers in all countries are not always following the rules. Until I am fully convinced by research that humans cannot be affected by BSE, I will refrain from eating British beef.
Natalia Katsarou, Denmark (and GR and USA!)

I think British beef is probably the safest on the planet. I don't believe that BSE was confined to this country. We were the only people doing the "British" thing and admitting the problem. I wouldn't be surprised if other countries have had outbreaks but haven't reported them after seeing what happened here. I won't eat any other beef than British!
Geoff Martin, England

A sad affair blown out of all proportion, which has left an unfortunate spate of meat nationalism in its wake.
John Harrison, Germany

I still think the risk is too large to contemplate.
Bronwyn, Australia

I would eat British beef, why wouldn't I? The ban has been lifted, therefore the beef is safe.
Matt Joseph-Smith, USA

Anytime I return home to Britain, I will indulge in British beef, which is usually better than anything I've tasted here on the continent. But to be honest, I won't allow my seven-year-old to try any until the test of time has given me satisfactory proof.
R Blunt, Switzerland

So far living in Canada for the past 3 months I have not tasted any beef anywhere near as good as the beef in the U.K. I have been eating it all my life and a steak is one of the best and most healthy meals anyone can have.
James Ibotson, Canada

The worst part about the whole business is what they fed the cattle in the first place! We were in the UK in the early 80's and ate a lot of beef. Over here there is now a question mark about giving blood because of it....I wonder what else in this world we are fed with that in a few years turns out to be a disaster!
Ramona, Canada

Of course I would eat British beef! As citizen of the United States, and a resident of Omaha, Nebraska, once the largest meat market in the world, I must say that British beef is of as high of quality as that from the U.S. For the E.U. to ban British beef is ridiculous, and yet another example of its unfair policies toward the UK. Those less successful E.U. nations would of course try to damage the British economy at every opportunity, and this should be stopped.
Bradley Miles Davis, USA

There needs to be a test developed to show that the beef is CJD free.
Wendy Nicholls, USA

As an expatriate Brit (from Leicester City) I will be in the UK over Christmas, and no way in the world would I eat British beef even if they gave it away for free.
Andrew Burt, Australia

I have faith in the British controls and feel that much of the protest about British beef from other countries is due to financial reasons and not the quality of your beef. British beef always looks much more appetising that Australian beef and I would love to try it!
Shirley Willis, Australia

Certainly I would eat British Beef if I could get it. I would eat a lot of British and English things if I could get them but the free market does not seem to be operating as yet maybe with the Euro if England joins things will be better.
Dr. Rodney C. Simmonds, Austria

There is a tiny possibility of contacting CJD from eating beef. There is also a small risk involved with many things; therefore, one cannot be so prudish about these things, least of all the government.
Barnaby Smith, Britain

Yes - Why not? British Beef is some of the best in the world. The previous government caused a major incident due to their mis-management of the situation when it first arose.
David Warburton, UK

We have never stopped eating British beef including the rib.
Ian Russell, UK

If there is a world ban on British beef then why is it not banned in Britain??!!! Are we British worth less than the rest of the world? By the way, yes, I do eat it occasionally.
Richard Bowell, UK

No way. Never again. I stopped eating it two years ago, probably too late. I don't care. Even if they kill every last cow here and start again, I ain't eating British beef. Why should we believe it is now "safe"?
Yoel Sano, UK

As a steak lover, I had always thought that nothing could compare to such famous US steak houses as Morton's, Chicago Chop House, and Bern's in Tampa. Then, about four years ago, I tried Scotch beef at an obscure restaurant in Edinburgh. I'm still here, of sound mind and body, to declare that I've never eaten anything so delicious in my entire life. I think that the European goverments who banned British beef did so as a precaution, but it didn't require over two years of observation to realize that there was never a fatal outbreak occuring in Britain.
Evan S, USA

I would be VERY intimidated to eat British beef and I'm a little afraid of USA beef and stick more toward chicken. Also we buy our beef from a local butcher shop.
Brenda Pina, USA

Bring on the British Beef! We'll buy it, no problem Mate!
Dave Newman, USA

British beef is now probably the safest in Europe with all the safeguards forced on us by European 'partners' with their huge domestic farming lobbies. I have never stopped eating British beef and this can only be good news, if very late news.
Jon Cooper, UK

I don't think it is!
Zarrar, UK

It is probably a lot safer than many other EU countries by now, so I don't see why not. It is possible that there were cattle in this country which were not infected and have since been bred. That's probably why they 'have all of a sudden become safe to eat'.
Elaine W, UK

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