WIREDGOV

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 more than 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 7 days, was slaughtered at C&S Meats Ltd’s abattoir in Dorset, on 2 September 2011. The error was discovered on 27 October 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 should not have entered the food supply. However, by the time the failure was discovered, the associated carcasses had left the premises.

Subsequent checks traced a 20kg piece of meat from the untested bullock that has since been destroyed and indicate that the rest of the meat from the carcasses is no longer in the food supply.