WASHINGTON – North American Bison Co-Op, a New Rockford, N.D.,
establishment is recalling approximately 25,000 pounds of whole beef heads
containing tongues that may not have had the tonsils completely removed, which
is not compliant with regulations that require the removal of tonsils from
cattle of all ages, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and
Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
Tonsils are considered a specified risk material (SRM) and must be removed from
cattle of all ages in accordance with FSIS regulations. SRMs are tissues that
are known to contain the infective agent in cattle infected with Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), as well as materials that are closely
associated with these potentially infective tissues. Therefore, FSIS prohibits
SRMs from use as human food to minimize potential human exposure to the BSE
agent.
The product subject to recall includes:
Various weight cases of “Beef Heads KEEP FROZEN.” Each case bears the
establishment number “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 recalled products were produced between June 25, 2009, and February 19,
2010. These products were shipped to distribution centers in Md., Mich., and
Minn. for further sale.
The problem was discovered during FSIS inspection activities at the
establishment. FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify
recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to
make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.
Media with questions about the recall should contact Philip Wicke, Vice
President of Operations, at (701) 356-7723. Consumers with questions about the
recall should contact Jeremy Anderson, Director of Customer Service, at (952)
545-2495.
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