Beef recalled for possible mad cow contaminants

A Fruitland company is recalling more than 4,000 pounds of beef because of possible mad-cow disease contaminants.

The USDA issued a news release Wednesday, saying Fruitland American Meat is recalling the meat because the dorsal root ganglia, or branches of the nervous system in the vertebral column, may not have been completely removed. It's considered a "specified risk material" and must be removed from cattle 30 months old and older, according to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Specified risk materials are tissues that might contain bovine spongiform encephalopathy, more commonly known as mad cow disease, the news release says.

The problem was discovered by FSIS during a review of company slaughter logs. The USDA says it may have occurred as a result of the way some employees were recording information and determining the ages of various cattle.

The recall was classified as Class II, which is considered low-risk and means there is only a remote probability of health risks involved in consuming the beef.

Every animal involved was inspected by an FSIS public health veterinarian before slaughter, the news release says. There is no indication any of the cattle slaughtered displayed any signs of mad cow.

FSIS and Fruitland American Meat have received no reports of adverse reactions from consumers, according to the news release, and anyone concerned about a reaction should contact a health-care provider.

Recalled products, which were produced between September 2013 and April, include:

• Quartered beef carcasses stamped with the USDA mark of inspection and establishment number EST. 2316
• 80-pound cases containing two cryovac packages of bone-in "Rain Crow Ranch Ribeye" bearing the establishment number EST. 2316 inside the USDA mark of inspection with the following production dates in 2013: Sept. 5, 9, 10 and 26; Oct. 2 and 3; Nov. 8 and 22; and Dec. 17, 26 and 27. Dates this year are Jan. 16, 17, 23 and 31; Feb. 13, 14, 21 and 28; March 8; and April 4

and 25.

The news release said the bone-in ribeye roasts were distributed to a restaurant in New York and a Whole Foods distribution center in Connecticut that serves stores in New England.

The quartered carcasses were distributed to an FSIS-inspected establishment in Missouri for further processing and distribution and to a restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri. "All products would have been processed into smaller cuts with no identifying consumer packaging," the release says.

The USDA-certified organic plant just outside Jackson processes beef, pork, bison, chicken and lamb from local farmers and specializes in processing grass-fed, organic and natural livestock.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

3006 State Highway FF, Jackson, MO