A US meat supplier has recalled more than 4,000 pounds of beef that it sent to two restaurants and one grocery chain over fears of possible contamination with bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease.

Some of the meat were sold as bone-in rib-eye roasts, and processed at the Fruitland American Meat in Jackson, Missouri. They were transported to the Whole Foods distribution center in Connecticut and distributed to at least 34 Whole Foods stores in the Northeastern area of the country.

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The possibly affected meat also made their way to a restaurant  in New York City and another restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri.

The US Department of Agriculture said the recalled beef were packaged between September 2013 and April 2014

The tainted meat products include 40-pound cases of bone-in Rain Crow Ranch Ribeye in cryovac packages under the establishment number 2316 and quartered beef carcasses under the same establishment number.  

Company slaughter logs revealed that some of the cattle may not have been in compliance with USDA regulations which require full removal of the dorsal root ganglia in cattle aged 30 months and older, prompting a recall by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection.

The problem could have been caused by the way some company employees were recording the age of the cattle.

The dorsal root ganglia is labeled by the service as specific risk material (SRM).

"SRMs are tissues that may contain the infective agent in cattle infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), as well as materials that are closely associated with these potentially infective tissues," said the USDA in a statement.

All cattle in question have been inspected by the FSIS public health veterinarian and have been found free of mad cow disease.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob, a fatal, rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder can happen if humans consume meat contaminated with mad cow disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, the USDA labeled the situation as a low-risk, Class II recall, meaning there is a remote probability of health problems associated with using the recalled products.

So far, no illnesses or any adverse reactions to eating the products have been reported.

The recalled products include: quartered beef carcasses stamped with the USDA mark of inspection and establishment number "EST. 2316," and 80-pound cases containing two cryovac packages of bone-in "Rain Crow Ranch Ribeye" bearing the establishment number "EST. 2316" inside the USDA mark of inspection with the following production dates printed on the box: 9/5/13, 9/10/13, 9/11/13, 9/26/13, 10/2/13, 10/3/2013, 11/8/13, 11/22/13, 12/17/13, 12/26/13, 12/27/13,1/16/14, 1/17/14, 1/23/14, 1/31/14, 2/13/14, 2/14/14, 2/21/14, 2/28/14, 3/8/14, 3/20/14, 4/4/14 or 4/25/14.

The USDA is asking anyone with questions to call the Fruitland American Meat company sales manager at (573) 243-3107. Anyone concerned about a reaction to contaminated meat should contact a healthcare provider.

Tagstainted, beef, USDA, Rain Crow Ranch Ribeye, EST. 2316, Fruitland American Meat, concern, mad cow