THE news that BSE has been confirmed in a dairy cow in the USA, following an earlier BSE finding in Canada, must have sent shivers of apprehension down the spines of beef producers in places as far a field as Chile, Africa and Australia because, until recently, this dreadful disease had supposedly been confined to Great Britain and Europe and was of no concern to the rest of the world. This has always meant that beef from other countries had access to the British market in the mistaken belief that only cattle born in Great Britain carried the genes which transmitted this disease.

The confirmed case in the USA has destroyed that theory and now consumers in this country must understand that British beef is the safest meat available to consumers in the world. All the stringent testing and very expensive culling programmes in this country have made this possible.

I would recommend that everyone should make certain of the source of any beef product before they eat it.

The best option, of course, is to buy direct from a farmer who is breeding and fattening his own cattle, especially to sell direct to the public and, this week, I met Pete Turnbull, of Foxfoot Hay Farm, at Newburgh Priory, who is doing just that. To make a success of direct-selling beef, one must always have a first-class product. This means starting with the best cattle and, in beef breeding, this means the Aberdeen Angus.

The Turnbull family farm is just over 400 acres on which the main emphasis is the production and sale of fat animals. They fatten about 3,000 pigs every year as well as 1,000 fat lambs in addition to their 150 beef cattle, which are mainly Aberdeen Angus cross cattle bought in the north country store markets. In addition, they also have a small breeding herd of both Aberdeen Angus and Limousin cattle from which they sell breeding stock to other farmers.

All the cattle are fattened in open straw-bedded yards with lots of room per animal and fed on an old-fashioned diet of roots, brewer's grains and silage in the traditional way. This is the way the Aberdeen Angus has been fattened for generations and is the reason why Scotch beef commands a big premium in London's best butchers and restaurants. In fact, this is traditional British beef.

It was, however, the way the Turnbulls started to market their meat direct to the public which interested me because, with the development and dramatic growth of the farmers markets, there seems to be an almost insatiable demand for food products for which the origins and traceability can be proven.

Just two years ago, the Turnbulls butchered and sold their first beef animal direct to some of their friends and family to test the market. Today, they are butchering and selling two animals a week and what started as a service to friends is turning into a business with customers all over the country.

The cattle are killed at the local slaughter house, at Kilburn, less than two miles from the farm. The beef carcases are then taken to a dedicated cold store where they are hung for three weeks before being cut up into joints and vacuum-packed for sale to customers. This ensures that the customer receives tender beef which cooks and tastes just as it should and can be put straight into the oven or into a deep freeze.

The Turnbulls sell their meat to customers in two boxes - the premium box contains fillet, sirloin and rump steaks and a variety of roasting joints and costs £85; the everyday box contains a selection of pot roasts, braising and stewing steak as well as a selection of beef burgers and sausages for £60. Both boxes can be delivered to any part of the UK by one of the ever-present delivery vans that cover the whole of the country every day.

What started out as an individual enterprise by the Turnbull family has now been expanded to include other Aberdeen Angus breeders and feeders and is now also being marketed on the internet as www.angusbeefdirect.co.uk, or by phone on (01642) 724853. David Evans, of Nunthorpe, near Middlesbrough, and Helen Benson, from West Tanfield, near Ripon, have joined forces with the Turnbulls to cope with the increasing demand for their high quality Aberdeen Angus beef.

Updated: 11:21 Wednesday, January 07, 2004