SUNNYSIDE, Wash. -- Demand for cow heads, a popular Hispanic holiday fare, likely won't be slowed by a federal ban on selling heads and other parts of cows older than 30 months, a health expert says.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday announced a ban on selling skulls, brains, vertebrae and eyes of cattle older than 30 months, following the discovery of mad cow disease in a dairy cow from a Mabton farm. The origin of the 6 1/2-year-old cow has been traced to Canada.
The ban probably won't prevent consumers from buying exotic cow parts for specialty ethnic dishes, but consuming them could pose a slightly higher risk, said Dr. Harvey Crowder of the Benton-Franklin Health Department.
"I'm not sure how much longer these ethnic foods will be available," he said. "We'll have to watch and see."
At The Valley's Market in Sunnyside, about 40 cow heads were sold the week before Christmas.
Travis Hamm, manager of the market's meat department, said he normally doesn't keep the heads on hand but orders them during the holidays to supply the large Hispanic population in the region.
The skinless heads, which have the brains intact, are traditionally wrapped in burlap bags, seasoned with onions, garlic and cilantro and roasted or steamed for hours, to make the Mexican specialty barbacoa.
Rob Martin, owner of the Sunnyside store, one in Pasco and another in Cashmere, said after the case of mad cow disease was reported, he received several calls from customers questioning where his beef is purchased.
"People are definitely concerned, and we immediately pulled everything off our shelves until we could determine where it came from," he said.
Crowder said the potential for humans to contract variant Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of the disease, is "incredibly low" even for those exposed by eating infected beef. But to those who eat beef, he warned, "I would advise caution."