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Cargill Is Second Meatpacker to Recall Beef Tongues

By PritzkerLaw

Cargill Corp. is the second meatpacking company in a week to recall beef tongues that may not have had tonsils completely removed.

The recall announcement by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service is Class II, meaning it's a health hazard situation where there's only a remote possibility of adverse health consequences. Under the recall, Cargill Meat Solutions in Milwaukee is recalling 5,522 pounds of beef tongues produced from Oct. 12 to Oct. 14. The packages bear the USDA establishment number EST 17690.

Just a couple of days ago, Omaha-based J.F. O'Neill meatpacking company recalled 33,000 pounds of tongues produced between July and October.

Tonsils are considered "specified risk material'' in cattle infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. SRM means the infective agent could possible be found in these tissues. USDA regulations prohibit  SRMs' from use in human food to minimize potential human exposure to BSE.

The prevalence of BSE is extremely rare and almost non-existent in U.S. cattle, but the beef tongue recalls are an opportunity to remind people why BSE is so dangerous. 

In humans it is known as new variant Creutzfeldt-Jackob Disease, which can be fatal. An outbreak in Britain several years ago resulted in human deaths. The country killed 4.4 million cattle as part of the eradication effort.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on October 18, 2009 (boomark / email).