US consumer groups have called for the US Department of Agriculture to release the names of grocery stores and restaurants that may have bought meat from a BSE-infected cow that was slaughtered in Washington state.
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Around 10,000 pounds of beef was recalled from Vern’s of Moses Lake Meats, the small Washington plant that slaughtered the cow that was found to have been infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, reported Reuters.
The meat was shipped to food stores in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho and Montana, the USDA said.
“Because of the slow pace and secrecy of the recall, there may well be consumers who purchased and ate meat from the BSE-positive animal in the days leading up to and following the Christmas holidays,” the consumer groups were quoted by Reuters as saying.
The alliance of consumer groups includes the American Public Health Association, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Consumer Federation of America.
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By GlobalDataThe USDA said there was very little chance of BSE-infected beef reaching consumers, as the cow’s brains and spinal cord had been removed at slaughter.
BSE is believed to be transmitted to humans via the consumption of infected tissue from a BSE-infected animal. The brains and spinal cord are the parts most likely to be infected.
