Sheepmeat containing brain and spinal cord material, which must be removed to prevent BSE entering the food chain, has been seized from two Dublin shops and a Leitrim abattoir.
The seizure of the meat was made by officials from the Food Safety Authority, which confirmed yesterday it had ordered the closure of a Mohill, Co Leitrim abattoir and the destruction of £9,000 worth of lamb and beef.
It was learned that the investigation, which now involves the Garda, began when food safety officials were checking abattoirs and shops for so called Specified Risk Material (SRM).
This material, which is part of the central nervous system, is attacked by BSE in a diseased animal. It must be removed, covered in dye and sent to a rendering plant in Co Cavan where it is destroyed.
Officers found unstamped meat and sheep carcasses which had not been split to remove the risk material in two shops in Dublin. It immediately began an investigation.
Yesterday it announced that as part of the ongoing investigation it had closed a small abattoir operating in Leitrim and had condemned a quantity of meat linked to the abattoir in Leitrim and in Dublin.
"This meat, lamb and beef, has now been destroyed under the supervision of the Food Safety Authority who wish to reassure consumers that there is no risk of this meat being offered for sale in the future," the statement said.
It said that the meat had been produced by contract slaughter in an abattoir at Garvagh, Mohill, Co Leitrim and the meat wholesaler involved was named as Olympic Foods Ltd, Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim.
"The authority's investigation in conjunction with the gardai and Leitrim county veterinary department led to a closure order being served immediately on the proprietor and a prohibition order detaining all meat on the premises," it added.
A spokesman for the authority said the main reason for the closure was the sub-standard level of operational hygiene at the abattoir.
He said very serious substandard hygiene practices were found during the investigation of the plant, leading to gross contamination of carcases and there were also problems with refrigeration.
He said there was significant growth of bacteria on carcases and it was a serious situation which could have posed a danger to the public.
"However, we can reassure the public that the abattoir was closed immediately on our inspection and all of the meat found there was detained and the meat found in the shops was also seized and destroyed, taking it out of the food chain," he said.
He said that the abattoir would not be allowed reopen until structures and practices were corrected.