Despite the recent case of mad cow disease in Washington, area businesses, including independent farmers and corporate grocers, are not concerned with the threat of a decline in beef sales.

Bellefonte farmer Nancy Baker hasn't lost business -- she's expecting more.

"If anything, it will increase my business," Baker said.

Since the December discovery of a Holstein cow affected by Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has scrambled to calm the fears of Americans about the disease.

Baker, a PSU alumna, believes the discovery of BSE in the United States does worry some people.

However, she also thinks the news of the case in Washington will help her business because she feeds her animals organically, unlike the herd that contained the cow infected by BSE.

"I think it scares people. I think they're more likely to seek out people like myself," Baker said.

Baker added her customers could tell the difference between the meat she produces and meat bought in a grocery store.

"I have a group of families who regularly buy," Baker said. "They can tell a clear difference."

Ken Clouser of Madisonburg and Larry Harpster of Pennsylvania Furnace try to feed their cattle homegrown feed.

"We grow everything. We haven't used any animal products in years," Clouser said.

Despite Baker's thoughts that the recent events may send more customers to local farmers, area grocery stores have not seen a drop in sales.

Denny Hopkins, vice president of advertising and public relations for Giant Food, said their sales have remained comparable to previous years.

"We've really seen no change in beef sales," Hopkins said.

Jeff Lombardi, meat manager at Wegmans, 345 Lowes Blvd., said Wegmans has not seen a change in beef sales. But Lombardi also said several customers asked about the safety of the meat.

"We've had a handful of customers ask," Lombardi said.

Both stores guarantee the safety of their beef because it is USDA inspected. Hopkins added that Giant Foods checked with all of their suppliers upon learning of the BSE case to ensure the safety of their beef products.

"We also assure that all the suppliers follow the USDA rules," Hopkins said.

Harpster also said he does not fear disease in the beef from the cattle he sells because of USDA regulations.

"All meat in the United States is federally inspected. Through federal inspection, they're inspected at least three times: before slaughter, during slaughter and after slaughter," Harpster said.

Lawrence Hutchinson, extension veterinarian at Penn State, said the USDA actions have kept the public calm about the BSE case in Washington.

"At this point, it appears that it won't have a great effect," Hutchinson said. "They're keeping it out of the human food chain."

Hutchinson said there is the possibility of another cow in the herd having the disease.

"What this cow was eating, other cows were probably eating," he said.

However, Hutchinson doubts the United States will see BSE cases in large quantities due to the heavy regulations.

"We're not likely to have large numbers like the United Kingdom," Hutchinson said.

The recent prohibition of downer cows -- cattle that cannot walk due to illness or injury -- from the U.S. food chain is part of the USDA's attempt to calm the public about the disease. It also reduces the likelihood of more BSE cases entering the slaughterhouse.

"One possibility of being a downer is BSE," Hutchinson said.

BSE is found in the central nervous system of cattle. Abnormal proteins called prions replace normal proteins in the brain, causing the brain to waste away. Humans contract the disease by eating infected nerve tissue.