by Alice Monroe - A Missouri meat company is recalling thousands of pounds of meat amid Mad Cow disease fears
Washington, DC -- More than 4,000 pounds of beef have been recalled by a Missouri-based meat processing company over fears of Mad Cow disease. The meat was prepared at Fruitland American Meat in Jackson, MO and sent 34 Whole Foods stores in the Northeastern territory of the U.S. as well as being distributed to a restaurant in New York City and a restaurant in Kansas City.
The meat processor announced the recall after discovering that some of its products were made from cattle not having a portion of their nervous system called the dorsal root ganglia removed. The removal is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requirement for beef cattle over age 30 months that helps minimize mad cow risk.
The USDA hasn't revealed the names of the restaurants that received delivery of the recalled beef, but has confirmed they have been instructed to destroy the meat.
The consumption of beef with Mad Cow disease can cause variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or variant CJD, in humans. Variant CJD is degenerative and fatal. Health officials have confirmed more than 220 cases of variant CJD around the world since 1996, mostly in the United Kingdom and France.
There have been four confirmed cases in the U.S., including a patient who recently died in Texas.
Reported by One News Page Staff 4 hours ago.