Jiangsu Provincial Public Security Department, Food and Drug Administration and other departments jointly announced that the police in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, uncovered illegal sales of beef in the Brazilian mad beef epidemic, arrested 27 people and seized 300 tons of beef, involving hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mad cow disease has caused people to "smell the cows." People who consume beef and cow's spinal cord that have been contaminated with mad cow disease may also be infected with the deadly Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Although the beef from the affected area does not equal to the infection with mad cow disease, the possibility of infection exists. Many local people may worry that they will accidentally eat beef from the affected area? According to briefings, these beefs not only have a market in Jiangsu, but also sell several provinces around. Therefore, people in neighboring provinces are not spared. Since studies have shown that the incubation period for mad cow disease is several years long, then the official notification is necessary to show whether the beef is infected and whether it is safe.

In fact, it has been more than half a year since the briefing was cracked on the first batch of cases. According to reports, in January of this year, the food safety committee of Guanyun County in Lianyungang City received a report saying that a farmer's market had sold fake meat with unusually low prices. In March, police arrested multiple suspects in Xuzhou and Guanyun. At the end of July, they again destroyed 8 dens in Lianyungang and captured many people. If it is said that there is a safety risk in this kind of beef from the affected area, then why did the police not warn the consumers at the first time? If the case is issued earlier, then will the eight dens continue to exist for more than four months? If the news is announced earlier, it will start to shock those illegal operators earlier and consumers will be more alert to the beef on the market.

The illegal sale of beef in Brazil’s mad cow disease epidemic area amounts to hundreds of millions of cases. In addition to being released as a result of the police, relevant departments in Jiangsu are not required to answer the question. What is the impact of this case on ordinary consumers?

Not only is the case detection and information release link, food market supervision is also worrying. According to briefings, due to the extremely low prices of illegally sold Brazilian beef, it entered the market of Lianyungang and resulted in local beef being sold. When the police detected it, the beef was sold in Guanyun County for over a year. For the reason why illegal sales were discovered for more than a year, the police response from Guanyun was that “the sales practices of illegal dealers are relatively hidden”. It must be acknowledged that there may be flaws in the strict supervision. However, when the local beef is not sold, the food supervision department still has no action. Can it also use the excuse of “stealth concealment”?

Food safety issues have always appeared frequently. What's sad is that after each question is exposed, public opinion is constantly repeating common sense. Perhaps, we must also deeply analyze the personality beyond the universality of every food safety incident. In view of this, the police, the food and drug administration, and other departments need to give a definitive answer regarding the questioning of the case of "Brazil in the epidemic area of ​​mad cow disease in Brazil."