Unsafe cow parts on food tables

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Unsafe cow parts on food tables

 

A panel of international experts recommends a total ban on high-risk tissue in

human food.

 

 

26/02/2004 Even before the nation`s first mad-cow case, few Americans chose to

dine on cow brains, spinal cords or intestines.

 

Learning that those parts are most likely to carry the disease only strengthens

the aversion.

 

But despite new rules adopted in December to keep the riskiest tissues out of

the food chain, some of the unsavory ingredients can still wind up on the table,

hidden behind innocuous labels like ``beef flavoring`` or as accidental

contamination in taco filling or processed meat.

 

People can get a fatal, human version of the disease by eating tissue from

infected animals, though no one knows what dose it takes.

 

Cows can become infected by eating less than one-thousandth of an ounce of brain

tissue from a sick animal, a panel of international experts said in a report to

the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

The panel strongly recommended the United States consider a total ban on brains

and other high-risk tissue in human food. At the least, the report said, the

government should tighten restrictions significantly, unless an aggressive

mad-cow testing program proves the disease hasn`t spread in U.S. cattle.

 

After the infected Holstein was discovered near Yakima, Wash., in December, the

USDA quickly banned human consumption of the most dangerous parts from cattle 30

months old or older: brains, spinal cords, eyes and backbones. The tonsils and

small intestines were banned from animals of any age.

 

But because only about 15 percent of cattle slaughtered are over 30 months of

age, the brains from 30 million animals a year can still go into the human food

supply.

 

Most don`t, because they`re instead made into animal and pet food. But fresh,

canned and frozen brains can still be sold in specialty markets.

 

Brains can also be used in headcheese and some other processed meat products, as

long as they`re listed on the label. No label is necessary when brains and

spinal cords are cooked with other ingredients to make beef broth, beef

flavoring and beef extracts.

 

It`s also still legal to include brains in nutritional supplements called

``glandulars.``

 

The new regulations allow processors to use machines to scrape flesh from the

backbone of cattle younger than 30 months old. A meat paste results that isn`t

supposed to contain bits of spinal cord. But sometimes it does. It is used in a

variety of products, from taco filling to pizza toppings, hot dogs and some

types of sausage and beef jerky.

 

In the United Kingdom, the European Union and Japan, the use of the scraping

machines isn`t allowed. The brains, spinal cords, eyes and intestines from all

cattle are considered hazardous waste.

 

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/food/8018538.htm

 

 

 

 

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