December 14, 2000
		French Mad Cow Epidemic Could be Three Times Worse Than Expected After three months of tests, the French food safety agency concluded that the mad cow epidemic could be three times worse than previously projected. The agency's official report said that bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) diseased cows have been entering the French food chain because farmers have been dishonest about the cause of the animals' deaths. BSE has been linked to the fatal brain wasting human affliction, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The latest disclosures are likely to underscore health fears in France, where beef consumption has fallen by up to 50 percent over the past two months. There is also a concern that infected French beef could have ended up in the British market.