A North Dakota company is recalling 25,000 pounds of beef over fears of mad cow disease.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said North American Bison Co-op shipped the whole beef heads with tongues attached, warning that the tonsils might not have been completely removed.
The tonsils of cattle of all ages have to be removed before the beef is sold over fears they could carry mad cow disease — Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy — which can cause a deadly brain wasting disease in humans.
The heads were produced between June 25, 2009 and Feb. 19 and were shipped to distribution centers in Maryland, Michigan and Minnesota. It was not clear whether any had been sold in Oregon.
The cases are labeled "Beef Heads KEEP FROZEN," with an establishment number of "EST. 18859" inside the USDA mark of inspection and a case code number "16999." North Dakota Natural Beef" is printed in the bottom left-hand corner of each label.
The USDA has details about the recall on its Web site.
-- Lynne Terry
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