The bones of a milk cow suspected of having contracted mad cow disease have been processed into meat-and-bone feed for chickens and pigs, according to the agriculture ministry.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry had earlier said that all the meat and bones of the 5-year-old Holstein dairy cow in Shiroi, Chiba Prefecture, had been burned after it was slaughtered in August.

Ministry officials said Friday, however, that about 100 tons of meat-and-bone feed into which the bones of the cow had been mixed are actually being stored at a feed maker in Tokushima Prefecture, while some 50 tons are being kept at a plant in Ibaraki Prefecture.