Japan's mad cow probe finds errors

TOKYO -- A nationwide probe for mad cow disease following the discovery of what could be Asia's first case revealed that the suspect animal was not destroyed as previously announced, but processed into meat and bone meal, a government spokesman said Friday.

Agriculture Ministry spokesman Toshimichi Kado said the investigation revealed that a meal plant and a feed mill in two different Japanese states were in possession of tons of meal that included processed meat and bones from the suspect 5-year-old Holstein milk cow.

Earlier the government said the animal had been slaughtered and burned.