Mad cow threatens Italian violin strings

ROME, May 19 (UPI) -- Italian violin string-makers say it makes no sense to ban the use of animal guts for their industry.

The European Union has banned offal and other animal parts to stem the spread of mad cow disease.

"This ban makes no sense. You can't eat a violin string," Mimo Peruffo of the Aquila company, the top Italian string-maker, told the Italian news agency ANSA. He said violin strings would pose no danger to humans because they are covered with silver-coated copper wire in the production process.

Peruffo said he has been forced to turn to Argentina for raw materials -- the only country deemed danger-free by the EU.