Bullock aged over 72 months enters food supply without being tested for BSE

Wednesday 21 December 2011

The Agency has been notified that meat has entered the food supply from a bullock aged over 72 months that had not been tested for BSE. A negative BSE test result is mandatory for cattle slaughtered for human consumption at over 72 months of age.

It is very unlikely that the bullock was infected with BSE and, as specified risk material (SRM) was removed, any risk to human health is extremely low. SRM is the parts of cattle most likely to carry BSE infectivity.

The bullock, aged 75 months and 28 days, was slaughtered at N Bramall & Son Ltd’s abattoir in Oxspring, Nr Sheffield, on 6 October 2011. The error was discovered on 1 December in the course of routine cross-checks of slaughter and BSE test data.

According to BSE regulations, the untested bullock, plus the one slaughtered before and the two after, should not have entered the food supply. However, by the time the failure was discovered, the associated carcasses had left the premises.

One of the carcasses was sent to the Netherlands where the authorities have been informed. The hearts and cheek meat from all the associated carcasses were traced and have since been destroyed. Other checks indicate that the rest of the meat from the carcasses is either no longer in the food supply or traceable and is likely to have been eaten.