[cstross]

Bear in mind that eating muscle tissue from infected animals is a much lower risk than innoculating yourself directly with brain matter from an infected animal.

The prion protein is expressed in the central nervous system, which isn't legal for human consumption. Also, ingestion of meat exposes it to stomach acid and digestive enzymes before it gets into the consumer's circulation -- enzymes that break down foreign proteins into (harmless) amino acids.

In contrast, accidentally injecting yourself with material from an infected brain is about the most direct possible infection route.

[bondarchuk]

>the central nervous system, which isn't legal for human consumption.

Source? I've seen calf brain on the menu plenty of times.

[cstross]

It was banned in the UK almost as soon as BSE was identified as a prion disease. Even before they culled the entire beef herd.

(Source: I live here, I'm old enough to remember it dominating the news cycle for months.)

[nllewellyn]

All sales of beef on the bone was banned too. Even Bovril had to change their recipe for a few years.

The ban was introduced on December 16, 1997, after government advisers reported small risks that small nerve endings near beef bones and bone marrow might be infective. The ban included cuts such rib roasts and oxtail, as well as soups and stock cubes made in Britain from beef bones.

The ban was lifted Tue 29 Nov 1999, but other bans on using as food more risky parts of cattle - brain, eyes, tonsils, spinal cord, spleen and intestines - remained in force, as did ban on use of bones in manufactured food and cattle more than 30 months old are banned from the food chain.

Things have been eased further since 1999 but I'm not sure we can get brain on the menu in the UK...

[sjg007]

Prions are pretty robust…