Ohio beef sellers confident of product safety

COLUMBUS (AP) -- Ohioans who eat beef and those who produce and serve it weren't ready to change their habits after the first suspected U.S. case of mad cow disease.
Columbus-based Wendy's International, known for its square burgers, said it's confident its beef supply is safe, company spokesman Denny Lynch said Wednesday.
Wendy's doesn't get beef from Washington state, where the suspected case was discovered, Lynch said. The company has long safeguarded against the possibility that the disease would make its way to the United States.
For example, Wendy's doesn't use so-called "downer" cows, which can't walk on their own because of illness, he said.
Like those of many restaurant chains, Wendy's shares were down in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares traded down about five percent at $37.79.
Ron Kiko, manager of Kiko Meats Inc. in Minerva, Ohio, said the news could help his business. The small company sells beef, pork and lamb. Minerva is about 60 miles southeast of Cleveland.
The beef he sells comes from local cattle that are slaughtered right on the premises. As a result, consumers will likely have more confidence in buying his products, rather than meat shipped from out west, where the disease was discovered, Kiko said.
The Ohio Farmers Union, a group representing family farmers, said people with concerns about mad cow disease should turn to locally raised beef.