Prions are scary as hell. Can I become infected with a prion from drinking bone broth (chicken, beef or lamb) or are the risks about the same as eating a cheeseburger from McDonald’s?
In: Biology
They are, and it is possible! But _extremely unlikely_, and you’re probably better off putting your fear in… Just about anything else really, unless you’re involved in the butchering of animals yourself – in which case follow the rules and don’t eat brain material or let it mix in your product!
In the USA, only [six cases of “mad cow disease” have happened since 2006](https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/cattle/bse#:~:text=The%20only%20classical%20BSE%20case,last%20on%20was%20in%202023.&text=The%20United%20States%20has%20strong,and%20public%20health%20from%20BSE.)
For comparison on just how dangerous that is, every year about 30 people die from escalator related injuries and a couple people die every year from tipping over vending machines (take that statistic with a grain of salt, I couldn’t find a great primary source for it while I wait for the toaster to finish). In that light, buying a soda isn’t just more likely to kill you on the spot than catching a prion disease from food, it’s several dozen times more likely.
Latest Answers