Originally published September 8 2005
Beef recalled because of mad cow rules
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Because of concerns over mad cow disease, a Wisconsin beef plant is recalling meat from three cows shipped to the United States from Canada, and while it is not believed that any of the cows had the disease, one of the animals was older than 30 months, which is the cutoff age for cows allowed entry into the States; older cows are more susceptible to mad cow disease, which has been linked to the death of about 150 people.
Beef banned under mad cow disease rules was shipped to wholesalers in a half-dozen states and is now being recalled by a Wisconsin beef plant.
The 1,856 pounds of beef included meat from a Canadian cow that inspectors in Canada determined was eligible for shipment to the United States.
A Canadian audit two weeks later found, however that the cow was too old to be allowed entry to the U.S.
"There is a minimal chance, given the age of the animal and the health of the animal, that there was any risk whatsoever" to people, Steven Cohen, spokesman for the Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service, said Monday.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is investigating and has suspended the veterinarian who certified the cow, said Francine Lord, import-export manager for the agency's animal health division.
She said the agency finished its audit last week and notified U.S. officials Thursday.
Two other Canadian cows less than 30 months old were processed with the older cow, and USDA recalled meat from all three animals as a precaution.
Green Bay Dressed Beef of Green Bay, Wis., processed the cow on Aug. 4 and distributed the meat to wholesalers in Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The department issued code numbers for recalled cases of beef sent to distributors, but it was unknown whether beef that reached the retail level would have carried the same numbers.
Consumer groups have criticized the government for not revealing the names of retail stores involved in food recalls.
The recall is for cuts of meat that could contain backbone because the cow's backbone was not removed.
Those cuts include neck bone, short loin and bone-in chuck.
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