1.   The human disease occurred after people ate tainted beef products.

2.   Agriculture Department and industry officials defend the practice of recycling tainted beef as completely safe because the cooking kills any harmful bacteria.

3.   But some experts say re-issuing tainted beef carries a health risk because it could contaminate other food being prepared at the plant where the cooking is done.

4.   However, two dozen cases of human disease in the United Kingdom are believed to be linked to eating tainted beef.

5.   It can also be spread through produce or unsanitary conditions, but tainted beef is most often the culprit.

6.   Nor does anyone know how much is required to transmit the disease, although evidence suggests that people can be infected from even a few bites of tainted beef.

7.   Scientists are investigating whether Britons affected by mad cow disease might have become ill from eating tainted beef.

8.   The ban was supposed to protect the European market against fears of tainted beef.

9.   Fears that eating mad-cow tainted beef could cause humans to contract CJD provoked a crisis in the beef industry across Europe and cattle prices plummeted.

10.   Japan confirmed its fourth case of mad cow disease Monday, the first since an outbreak late last year triggered widespread fear of tainted beef.