Bovine spinal cord, the sale of which has been banned by the European Union to reduce the spread of mad cow disease, has been found in a cargo of beef imported to Northern Ireland from the Republic.
It is the second time this year that traces of spinal cord have been found in the United Kingdom in meat imported from the Republic.
A Northern ministry of agriculture inspector in the town of Larne, in Co Antrim, discovered the tissue in beef that had arrived from Co Kildare. An investigation has been ordered by Government authorities.
The EU in January banned the sale of spinal cord, which must be removed from all cattle at slaughterhouses. A cow's nervous system is believed to be the breeding ground for the prion that causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease.
Discoveries of spinal cord in imported beef have multiplied in Britain in recent months, notably in shipments from Germany, forcing London to tighten border controls.
BSE began in cattle herds in Britain, from where it spread to continental Europe. More than 80 people, mostly in Britain, have died after contracting its human equivalent, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).
AFP