Imported heifer aged over 30 months not tested for BSE

Tuesday 7 September 2010

The Agency has been notified that meat from an over thirty month (OTM) heifer imported from Switzerland has entered the food supply without being tested for BSE.

It is very unlikely that the heifer was infected with BSE and as specified risk material (SRM) was removed, any risk to human health is extremely low.*

The heifer had been imported into the UK in December 2009 and was slaughtered at Woolley Bros (Wholesale Meats) Ltd’s abattoir in Holbrook, Sheffield, on 14 July 2010, at just over 42 months of age. BSE testing is mandatory for cattle born in Switzerland if slaughtered for human consumption at over 30 months of age. The missing BSE test result was discovered on 23 August during routine cross checks of slaughter and BSE test data.

According to BSE regulations, the animal slaughtered before the untested heifer and the two animals slaughtered after the heifer should also have been removed from the food chain. However, by the time the failure was discovered, all of the associated carcasses had left the premises. Three of the four associated carcasses had been exported to the Netherlands and the authorities there have been informed. Subsequent checks indicate that the meat from the other associated carcass is no longer in the food supply chain.

*SRM is that part of the animal most likely to contain BSE infectivity.