Recall of mad cow beef expands to four more states

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday that meat from a cow infected with mad cow disease was sent to four additional states and Guam.

The disclosure roughly doubles the area in the West where the meat is being recalled.

Agriculture Department officials also said they are considering changing their screening procedures for other infected cattle.

Japan, the top importer of American beef, and more than two dozen other countries have stopped U.S. beef imports. Jordan joined the list yesterday. U.S. beef-industry officials estimated this week that they have lost 90 percent of their export market. Ranchers export 10 percent of the beef they produce.

U.S. agriculture officials arrived yesterday in Japan to discuss maintaining beef trade.

Dr. Kenneth Petersen, an Agriculture Department veterinarian, said, "The recalled beef represents an essentially zero risk to consumers."

USDA investigators said some of the meat from the cow slaughtered Dec. 9 went to Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana and Guam. Earlier, they said most of the meat went to Washington and Oregon, with lesser amounts to California and Nevada, for distribution to consumers.

Dr. Petersen said the cattle parts most likely to carry infection -- the brain, spinal cord and lower intestine -- were removed at a slaughterhouse in the state of Washington before the meat was processed for human consumption.

Most of the meat from the infected cow has been located and recalled, he said.