US food safety inspectors have found over 1,000 cases since 2004 where US meat plants have infringed mad cow disease rules, the US Department of Agriculture has reportedly said.
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The USDA released documents to the American Meat Institute and consumer group Public Citizen that showed that 1,036 non-compliance reports were filed between January 2004 and May 2005 regarding rules aimed at preventing BSE-infected meat from entering the food chain, reported Reuters.
Public Citizen said the files showed that in some instances US meat plants had not distinguished between older and younger animals, had not removed banned high-risk materials such as the spinal cord, and had not cleaned tools properly.
“I think there still has to be a concern about meat from an infected animal making it into the food supply,” Tony Corbo, legislative representative for Public Citizen, was quoted by Reuters as saying. “It is not a fail-safe system.”
The American Meat Institute, however, argued that the non-compliance reports represented a tiny fraction of the 46 million cattle slaughtered nationwide during the 17-month period, Reuters said.
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