A Missouri-based meat company has recalled its beef products amid fears of possible contamination that could prove to be fatal for humans.
The company, Fruitland American Meat, has recalled about 4,012 pounds of beef on fears that they could contain parts of the nervous system that can carry properties related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease.
BSE can prove to be fatal for humans as its attacks the brains of people who eat tainted beef.
These products were distributed to two restaurants and a grocery chain, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a release on Friday.
The USDA, however, has confirmed that the products showed no signs of BSE. But both the company and the USDA has asked the customers to be cautious and return the products if they have bought them from the mentioned places. No cases of any untoward incidents have been reported so far.
According to the USDA, the products were produced between September 2013 and April 2014 and were distributed to a restaurant in New York City, Kansas City, Missouri and a Whole Foods distribution center in Connecticut.
Missouri-based meat firm recalls beef products on fears of BSE contamination
The recalled products include:
- Quartered beef carcasses stamped with the USDA mark of inspection and establishment number ‘EST. 2316’.
- 80-pound cases containing two cryovac packages of bone-in ‘Rain Crow Ranch Ribeye’ bearing the establishment number “EST. 2316” inside the USDA mark of inspection with the following production dates printed on the box: 9/5/13, 9/10/13, 9/11/13, 9/26/13, 10/2/13, 10/3/2013, 11/8/13, 11/22/13, 12/17/13, 12/26/13, 12/27/13,1/16/14, 1/17/14, 1/23/14, 1/31/14, 2/13/14, 2/14/14, 2/21/14, 2/28/14, 3/8/14, 3/20/14, 4/4/14 or 4/25/14.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and Mad Cow Disease
Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease or CJD is a degenerative neurological disorder that is not curable and invariably fatal.
Variant Creutzfeldt – Jakob disease is a type of CJD caused by the consumption of food contaminated with prions, which also cause BSE. Mad cow disease is officially called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.
The CDC says Variant CJD was first identified in the United Kingdom in 1996. So far over 220 cases have been reported worldwide with the majority in Europe.
The disease is not communicated through human to human contact. It is generally caused by eating infected meat or via blood.
TYPES OF CJD INCLUDE
- variant (vCJD)
- sporadic (sCJD)
- familial (fCJD)
- iatrogenic
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:
- Rapidly progressive dementia
- memory loss
- personality changes
- hallucinations
- anxiety
- depression
- paranoia
- obsessive-compulsive symptoms
- psychosis
