North American Bison Co-Op은 한국으로 쇠고기를 수출하는 회사중에 하나이며 이미 recall대상으로 지정된 제품은 미국국내는 물론 수출대상국가에도 유통이 되었던 것들입니다. 그러나 한국언론은 이 회사에서 수입된 쇠고기가 이번 미국의 recall품목과 어떠한 관계에 있는지에 대한 보도는 커녕 얼만큼 수입했는지 조차 파악하지도 못하고 있다는군요.

==

North Dakota Firm Recalls Whole Beef Head Products That Contain Prohibited Materials

Recall Release         CLASS II RECALL
FSIS-RC-023-2010     HEALTH RISK: LOW

Congressional and Public Affairs
(202) 720-9113
Catherine Cochran

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2010 – 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., CO, 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.

Consumers with food safety questions can “Ask Karen,” the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day.