Associated Press
TOKYO — A nationwide probe for mad cow disease following the discovery of what could be Asia’s first case revealed that the suspect animal was not destroyed as previously announced, but processed into meat and bone meal, a government spokesman said Friday.
Agriculture Ministry spokesman Toshimichi Kado said the investigation revealed that a meal plant and a feed mill in two different Japanese states were in possession of tons of meal that included processed meat and bones from the suspect 5-year-old Holstein milk cow.
The cow, from a farm just east of Tokyo, was slaughtered in August after mysteriously losing its ability to stand. Its meat and bones were apparently sent to be processed into meal before the results of a test for mad cow disease were known, Kyodo News agency said.
The Agriculture Ministry issued an order Friday for the tainted meal to be destroyed, Japanese news reports said.
Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is thought to cause the fatal variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans who eat infected beef. CJD kills its victims by tearing holes in their brain tissue.
The ministry announced Monday that the test showed evidence of the disease. A panel of scientists is supposed to make a final determination. If confirmed, the case would be the first in Asia.
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