WARSAW, Poland – Animal health officials in Poland reported a case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) on the same day as officials from the European Commission arrived to investigate allegations that an abattoir outside of Warsaw had slaughtered sick cows for human consumption.

The case was confirmed at an abattoir in Mirsk in southwestern Poland not far from the Czech Republic border, according to a World Animal Health Organization (OIE) notice.

The BSE finding occurred as officials from the European Commission arrived to verify a report of an abattoir that slaughtered sick cattle for human consumption, according to various news reports. A journalist working for Polish broadcaster TVN was hired at the abattoir and took undercover video of sick cattle being slaughtered for meat. Polish officials have denied the allegations.

But Jacek Zarzecki, president of a Polish association of beef producers said in a statement, “…This is a clear example of the lack of responsibility for placing goods on the agri-food market. In our opinion, the law enforcement agencies must deal with this matter with complete determination and the guilty parties should be punished severely. It should be noted that the situation that occurred in the presented plant is an infamous exception, for which the entrepreneur is entirely responsible, who did it with full awareness that his behavior is inconsistent with the applicable law.”