Are processed beef products riskier to eat?
Slightly. Meat such as ground beef, hot dogs, taco meat, and luncheon meats are made from several sources of meat. They are obtained by machines, known as advanced meat recovery systems, that strip flesh from the spines and other awkwardly shaped parts of the cow. Some tests have detected tissue from the central nervous system in samples of beef products. However, many meat companies remove the spine and brain before slaughter. Such tissues are not supposed to be in meat products in the United States unless they are labeled. Industry officials say Agriculture Department tests on beef products found incidental amounts of central nervous system cells. Q: How can the government ensure that beef is safe? A: In the case of the cow in Washington, federal and state officials have quarantined the herd on the farm where the animal came from. If tests in England confirm that the cow had BSE, then the herd will be slaughtered to prevent an outbreak. Investigators also are tracing where the meat f
