Reuters Tue 30 Dec:, 2003 23:22

A U.S. scientist said on Tuesday a simple treatment combining high pressure with heat could neutralize the proteins that cause mad cow disease, but federal officials had shown little interest in it

Dr. Paul Brown of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke said his process
'uses high pressure and it works'
They sealed the samples of contaminated Hot dogs, put them in polyethylene bottles filled with hot castor oil then subjected them to bursts of physical pressure in a pressure chamber.The pressure bursts, ranging from 100,000 pounds per square inch to 174,000 PSI (690 MPa to 1,200 MPa), inactivated many of the prions, Brown's team said.

Recent measures imposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture include a ban on using meat from downer cattle -- animals unable to walk on their own, or stagger on the way to the slaughter plant.

U.S. officials have repeatedly said there is no risk to consumers from the recall of 10,000 pounds of beef linked to the infected cow and 19 others slaughtered on Dec. 9. But Brown and other experts note that the process of slaughtering can spatter and spread infected material on to meat, despite the most careful measures. Processed meat products are considered the riskiest as they mix tissue from various parts of the animal.
BSE destroys the brains of infected cattle. There is no cure and it is always fatal.