Consumer concerns over beef safety are mainly caused by a lack of information about BSE, the Food Safety Promotions Board (FSPB) has said.
The board has published an information booklet, Is beef safe to eat? - BSE: the facts, which will be available in major supermarkets, butcher shops, and through the board's safe-food helpline.
"The information we have prepared answers questions about variant CJD, as well as addressing issues like the origins of the disease and the protective measures now in place," said Mr Martin Higgins, FSPB chief executive.
The FSPB said a recent survey found 48 per cent of people in the State were concerned about BSE being passed to humans in the form of its human equivalent, vCJD.
Copies of the free booklet, and consumer information, can be obtained by phoning the safe-food helpline. In the Republic, the number is 1850404567, and from the North it is 0800-0851683.