美國農業部17日發布全面回收1億4300萬磅從加州屠宰場非法屠殺牛隻而製成的牛絞肉，這是美國史上最大規模的牛肉回收案件。
在美國人道協會（The Humane Society of the United States）提供其暗中調查屠宰場殘忍宰殺動物的錄影證據以及詳細報告給州政府和聯邦政府官員之後，美國政府即採取行動。
在蒐證錄影帶中記錄了西地肉品包裝公司（Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company）以殘忍的方式對牛隻進行宰殺加工。動物無法自力站立稱為「倒牛症」，雖然經過獸醫的檢查，但證據顯示牛隻在宰殺之前就已經無法行走。而且受傷的牛隻不僅被毆打虐待，業者還用推高機將患有倒牛症的牛隻強行推到屠宰場，過程違反加州法律。
而這當中隱藏的風險為狂牛症（mad cow disease）或是「牛的海綿樣腦病變」（Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy,簡稱BSE），因為牛隻無法走路是罹患狂牛症前期的徵兆之一，所以美國農業部規定禁止將宰殺倒牛（downer cows）的加工肉品流入人類食物鏈。
美國農業部食品安全次長雷蒙博士（Dr. Richard Raymond）在今天緊急召開的記者會上表示，「如果消費者食用了這些回收的牛肉產品，可能隱藏著對人體健康產生不良影響的可能性。」
另外，農業部長謝弗（Ed Schafer）也表示，「他對西地肉品包裝公司使用不人道的方式處理牛隻，且違反食品安全規則感到驚愕。」
然而才剛就任21天的新任農業部長謝弗進一步指出，「在多重防衛措施下，這些動物不太可能有罹患狂牛症的風險，但是因為其程序違反農業部規定，必須進行回收。」
「牛的海綿樣腦病變」（BSE）是一種致命的神經退化疾病，會引起受感染牛隻的腦和脊椎神經海綿樣病變，普遍認為這是由於感染了普恩蛋白（prions）的畸形蛋白質，而不是病毒或是細菌。普恩蛋白會經由餵養反芻動物而傳播擴散，如餵養牛隻的飼料中含有受汙染的動物組織。
謝弗表示，1997年美國通過反芻的食物中不得含有動物蛋白質的禁令，即是安全防衛系統的一個部分。
對人類而言，這種致命的疾病為被稱為新型的庫賈氏症（Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease），其傳染途徑會透過食用受感染的動物食品或輸血。至2007年6月，在英國和其他6個地方已經有165人受感染而死亡，而由於這個疾病的潛伏期很長，死亡人數預計還會再上升。
Agriculture officials today ordered the recall of an unprecedented 143 million pounds of ground meat from illegally slaughtered downed dairy cows at a Chino, California slaughter plant.
The government took action after The Humane Society of the United States provided videotaped evidence and a detailed report of their undercover investigation of animal cruelty at the plant to state and federal officials.
Animals unable to stand on their own, called downer cows, that had passed a veterinary inspection but were not walking before slaughter, were processed at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company in an inhumane manner, the videotape shows. Injured animals were beaten and prodded, and a fork lift was used to shove living downer cows onto the killing floor, contrary to California law.
The danger is mad cow disease, or BSE, bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Inability to walk is a sign of an advanced stage of mad cow disease, so U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations forbid the processing of downer cows into the human food chain.
Dr. Richard Raymond, USDA under secretary for food safety said at a hastily called news conference today, "There is a remote probability that the recalled beef products could cause adverse health effects if consumed."
Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer said he is "dismayed at the in-humane handling of cattle that has resulted in the violation of food safety regulations at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company."
Schafer, who has been agriculture secretary for just 21 days, said, "It is extremely unlikely that these animals were at risk for BSE because of the multiple safeguards; however, this action is necessary because plant procedures violated USDA regulations."
BSE is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord of infected animals. It is believed to be caused by infective prions, misshapen proteins, rather than virus or bacteria. Prions are spread by feeding ruminant animals like cows material containing contamined animal tissue.
A ban on animal protein in ruminant food was passed in the United States in 1997 as part of the safeguard system, and Scafer said.
In humans, the fatal illness is known as new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It is spread by consuming infected animals and by blood transfusions. By June 2007, it had killed 165 people in Britain, and six elsewhere, with the number expected to rise because of the disease's long incubation period.
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