The confirmation Wednesday of a second case of mad cow disease has made consumers -- already suspicious of the government's declaration that domestic beef that goes to market is completely safe -- even more anxious.
Despite the introduction of blanket testing for the brain-wasting illness on Oct. 18 and continued assurances from meat producers and government officials on the safety of beef, sales have remained sluggish.
At a supermarket Wednesday in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, few shoppers stopped by the beef section, despite posters saying the meat had been inspected and that the cows were not fed meat-and-bone meal, which is suspected of transmitting the fatal disease.