The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has hosted a meeting to review the Harvard Risk Assessment of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as "mad cow disease," in the United States on July 25.

The FSIS, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), took a look at new data, and says the risk of a human contracting BSE has fallen.

According to a statement from the FSIS, "The agency requested an updated risk assessment model from the university to evaluate the impact of measures implemented after the December 2003 discovery of a BSE-positive cow in Washington State, and recommendations made by an international BSE panel."

Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond explains, "We have the safest food supply in the world. The more people understand the science behind it, the more they will believe us. In addition to looking at the actions we have already taken, this report also analyzes the recommendations made by the panel that was convened to review the actions taken by the United States in response to the BSE case in Washington State."