Cattle heads recalled -- again

Officials are looking for nearly a million pounds of cattle heads, distributed across the land, including California.It’s the latest roundup of cattle heads. In April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service recalled about 406,000 pounds of frozen cattle heads processed by Elkhorn Valley Packing of Harper, Kan., due to a health hazard.

The latest recall involves 941,271 pounds of cattle heads from Dallas City Packing Inc., a Dallas, Texas, company.

In both recalls some of the cattle heads had not had their tonsils completely removed.

Tonsils are considered a “specified risk material” and must be removed from cattle of all ages. SRMs are tissues that are known to contain the infective agent in cattle infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease.


The following Dallas City Packing products subject to recall include:

• Various weight boxes of “2-BEEF HEAD.” Each shipping package bears the establishment number “EST. 156” inside the USDA mark of inspection, as well as a packaging date between “2 05 7” and “8 05 8” stamped on the side of the box.

• Various weight boxes of “3-BEEF HEAD.” Each shipping package bears the establishment number “EST. 156” inside the USDA mark of inspection, as well as a packaging date between “2 05 7” and “8 05 8” stamped on the side of the box.

The company is recalling all products packed between Feb. 5, 2007, and Aug. 5, 2008. These products were distributed primarily to retail establishments in Texas as well as distribution centers in California, Colorado, Louisiana, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Texas.

Tags: cattle heads recalled