FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The German beef industry has a new enemy: the emu.

Frightened by mad cow disease, many Germans have stopped eating beef and in their quest for safe food are developing a taste for the large Australian flightless bird.

Chicken and pork have remained dietary staples in this country of meat lovers, but they don't do the trick when the taste buds scream out for a thick, juicy burger -- without the beef.

Emu does.

Germans are also turning other exotic imports such as kangaroo, crocodile and ostrich.

"Emu is like beef," said Janet Baracche, owner of the Frankfurt-based specialty restaurant Kangaroo's, which specializes in exotic meats and meals. "It really tastes like beef but doesn't have all of the disadvantages," she said.

That means low-cholesterol, low-fat, and no apparent risk of getting the brain-wasting sickness that has caused near hysteria in Germany since the first cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) were discovered in cattle last November.

"It's all a question of how it's prepared," said Kangaroo's customer, Axel Schmidt, a 32-year-old law student. He said his emu burger was a bit dry.