Can cattle with TB lesions still enter the food chain?
TB is a zoonotic disease, meaning humans can contract it, therefore the safe handling of bovine produce with suspicions of TB is critical.
Every animal that is sent to slaughter for human consumption in Ireland - even from non-restricted herds - is subject to post-mortem veterinary inspections.
As part of this process a selection of glands (lymph nodes) are inspected, as well as lungs, chest cavity, and abdominal organs to check for any signs of TB lesions.
DAFM confirmed to Agriland that all bovine found to have TB following slaughter are handled in accordance to the EU Commission Regulation 2019/627 under article 33.
This means if a TB lesion has been found in the lymph nodes of only one organ or part of the carcass, the animal is considered fit for human consumption and processed.
However the affected organ or part of the carcass, as well as the associated lymph nodes are declared unfit for human consumption and will be discarded.
In addition to this, the department stated that any animal found with two or more localised lesions in more than one area of the carcass at post mortem inspection stage, are declared unfit for human consumption.
In terms of dairy, milk from any reactor animals is prohibited from entering the food chain from the moment TB is diagnosed in the herd.
DAFM also stated, with food safety as a priority, that any animals which have reacted positively or inconclusively to TB are slaughtered separately at the end of the day.
This is done in an effort to avoid the risk of contamination of other carcasses, the slaughter line and staff present in the slaughterhouse.
With TB incidence ramping up, DAFM recently confirmed that there were 19,610 total reactors between January 1 and July 20 of 2025, while the 12-month rolling figure between June 2024 and June 2025 came in at 43,290 reactors.
From that, 3,459 animals from non-restricted bovine TB herds, were slaughtered with suspicions of TB lesions between January 1, 2025 and July 20, 2025, with 1,758 animals from that figure, confirmed to be infected following laboratory testing of tissues.
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