Ending seven months of uncertainty, the U.S. Agriculture Department confirmed that a cow first suspected of having Mad Cow Disease in November had tested positive -- the second such case identified in the United States.
Agriculture secretary Mike Johanns, calling U.S. beef "the safest in the world," said the case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) posed no threat to public health because the animal was not sent to a food processing plant.