U.S. hamburger derived from special meat trimming equipment cannot contain any central nervous system material that could spread mad cow disease, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Tuesday. Some 30 U.S. beef processing plants use special equipment, known in the industry as an “advanced meat recovery” system, to strip and scrape tiny bits of beef from cattle bones. Companies use the technology to reduce hand trimming by employees and to maximize production of meat for hamburger.
