Elk tenderloin recalled because animal had Chronic Wasting Disease

Elk tenderloin are being recalled on food poisoning concerns because it may have come from an animal that had Chronic Wasting Disease.

Exotic Meats USA of San Antonio, Tex., has announced the recall of its Elk Tenderloin because it may contain meat that had the fatal brain and nervous system disease found in elk and deer. Meat in the recall, according to a report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has production dates of Dec. 29, 30, and 31, 2008, and was purchased from Sierra Meat Company in Reno, Nev.

The infected elk came from Elk Farm LLC in Pine Island, Minn., and was among the animals slaughtered at Noah’s Ark Processors LLC, a USDA processing facility.

Chronic Wasting Disease is caused by an abnormally-shaped protein called a prion, which damages the brains and nervous systems of animals in the deer family.

The Elk Tenderloin in question was sold from Jan. 16-27, 2009. It was packaged in individual vacuum packs weighing about 3 pounds each. Six (6) packs were sold to the public at the Exotic Meats USA retail store in San Antonio.

According to the USDA, “Currently, it is believed that the prion responsible for causing CWD in deer and elk is not capable of infecting humans who eat deer or elk contaminated with the prion, but the observation of animal-to-human transmission of other prion-mediated diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), has raised a theoretical concern regarding the transmission of CWD from deer or elk to humans. At the present time, FDA believes the risk of becoming ill from eating CWD-positive elk or deer meat is remote. However, FDA strongly advises consumers to return the product to the place of purchase, rather than disposing of it themselves, due to environmental concerns.”