BSE (MAD COW DISEASE)

Potential case of BSE reported in Canada (3/7/06)
Preliminary screening tests conducted by the Province of Manitoba and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have detected a potential case of mad cow disease in a cow born well before the 1997 implementation of Canada’s feed ban. Final test results are expected next week. (Brownfield)

Canada relaxes cattle import regulations (30/6/06)
Canada has decided to open their border to US cattle and cattle products. Effective immediately, all classes of US cattle, including those for breeding purposes born after January 1, 1999, will be allowed into the country. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says that although the US has had a ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban in place since August, 1997, the ban is not considered to be fully implemented and enforced until January 1, 1999. (Brownfield)

USDA to review 7 beef plants on South Korea concerns (23/6/06)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will review production practices at seven U.S. beef plants in order to quell concerns raised by South Korea after its own inspectors complained of "deficiencies," USDA officials said.
South Korea has essentially accepted the system of regulations that U.S. producers have agreed to in order to qualify for export to South Korea, USDA officials said on condition of anonymity.
But seven individual U.S. plants were pointed out as problematic by South Korea. "We will review their corrective measures" after the U.S. beef plants make any changes to appease South Korea, one USDA official said. (Dow Jones)

Minor impact on Australia from US beef's return to Japan: MLA (23/6/06)
Australian beef exports aren't likely to fall much after Japan lifts a ban on imports from the US, according to Meat and Livestock Australia.
Australian exporters will face some challenges after Japan and the U.S. agreed on import conditions for U.S. beef, with shipment expected to commence in late July.
Beef consumption in Japan has fallen 15% since the US BSE discovery, so a big challenge facing the Australian, US and Japanese beef industries will be to lift consumption of beef in Japan. (Dow Jones)

Japan to check safety of beef from Australia (16/6/06)
The Japanese government will examine the safety of beef imported from Australia, Mexico, China and other countries seen to be free of mad cow disease, government officials said Thursday.
Japan may impose an import ban, depending on the results of the examinations, the officials said.
Japan suspended imports of U.S. beef in January, a month after it lifted a two-year ban on beef.
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) classifies Australia and New Zealand as the world''s safest countries.

Opposition parties urge caution on US beef imports (15/6/06)
Japanese opposition parties have urged the Government not to yield to US pressure to resume beef imports before the heads of the two countries meet later this month.
The ban on US beef has been a boon for Australian producers and they now hold almost 90 per cent of the Japanese beef market.
The Japanese Government has completed a series of public meetings about US beef. It said they were necessary before making an agreement with Washington to restart imports. (The Age)

US wants all plants approved for beef exports to Sth Korea
U.S. beef will not go to South Korea until Seoul approves all 38 American plants that want to export beef, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said on Monday, adding there were "minor" issues at "a handful of plants."
The disagreement over plants has delayed the re-opening of sales to South Korea, once the No. 3 market for U.S. beef, possibly until July. Both nations say they are standing on principle. (Reuters)

Much still unknown about two US BSE cases (9/6/06)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture now believes the only two native-born U.S. cows to contract mad-cow disease were infected with a little understood and rare "atypical" strain, throwing into question how the animals were infected.
USDA Chief Veterinarian John Clifford told Dow Jones Newswires this week that the latest two cases of BSE in Alabama and Texas differ from the common form of the disease found in Canada and the U.K. The USDA memo said the abnormal BSE found in the Texas and Alabama cows "had different molecular characteristics (from normal BSE) that are similar to a few described cases in France." (Dow Jones)

China, US unable to reach deal to start beef trade (7/6/06)
The U.S. and China were unable to reach an agreement over the weekend during talks in Beijing over the resumption of U.S. beef exports to China and another high level meeting may be necessary, U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman Ed Loyd said Tuesday.
USDA undersecretary J.B. Penn led a delegation to China over the weekend for the second time in attempts to finalize the terms on how China will buy U.S. beef. Penn also led the first meeting was in mid-May, but no progress was made at there.
China agreed April 11 to begin buying U.S. beef, but that announcement didn't specify the date or terms of the trade resumption. (Dow Jones)

South Korea may not lift U.S. beef ban (6/6/06)
A failure of U.S. beef exporters to respond fully to South Korean requirements could delay resumption of business between the two nations.
Agriculture Minister Park Hong-soo said the problem could keep him from announcing Wednesday that South Korea's 2-year-old ban on U.S. beef was being lifted, Yonhap reported Monday.
"The timing of resuming U.S. beef imports could be delayed because (U.S. exporters) didn't meet processing standards proposed by us," Park said. (UPI)

Possible July return of US beef to Japan (23/5/06)
The US may begin exporting beef to Japan as soon as July, with product potentially back on Japanese plates in August. Last week’s talks between the two countries ended in agreement on the conditions to lift Japan’s ban on US beef, and an official decision could be made as early as mid June.
While this will be too late to provide significant volumes of US beef for the Obon holiday period (mid August), it will see the US back in the market  for the traditional peak beef consumption period in December. (MLA)

Austria finds fourth case of BSE (16/5/06)
Austria found its fourth case of BSE in a six-year-old cow found at a slaughterhouse in a northern province of Upper Austria. It is believed the cow came from a farm near the Czech/German border.
Reports say all cattle from the farm have been destroyed and the farm and slaughter plant closed down and disinfected.

Japan confirms 26th mad cow case (15/5/06)
Authorities confirmed at the weekend the 26th case of mad cow disease in Japan. A 5.5-year-old  Holstein cow from a farm in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido was confirmed by the agriculture ministry to be infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The latest case of BSE was found as officials here explore ways to resume US beef imports, stopped after mad cow cases were found in the US.
Japan, the only Asian country to have confirmed BSE cases, found its first mad cow case in September 2001, prompting the government to screen every cow slaughtered for consumption - a step not taken by the US. (Forbes)

BSE investigation in US reaches dead end (8/5/06)
Alabama state officials and the United States Department of Agriculture have ended their investigation into the latest case of BSE, unable to reveal the infected cow's herd of origin.
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service this week officially ended their epidemiological investigation into a confirmed-positive March BSE find.
It found the animal was over 10 years old and born before the 1997 ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban. But the investigation could not find the BSE-positive cow's herd of origin and could only identify the cow's two most recent offspring. (farmonline)

Canada beef shipments to China on hold (8/5/06)
Hopes of resuming Canadian beef shipments to China in the near future remain on hold, an official with the Canadian Beef Export Federation (CBEF). There have been ongoing talks with China in hopes of Canada obtaining permission to restart beef shipment.
China banned beef imports from Canada in May 2003 after BSE was detected in a cow in Alberta.
China have specified that for trade to re-commence, it must be based on all SRMs (Specified Risk Materials) being removed from the rendering system in Canada for pet foods and feeds. (Dow Jones Newswires)

23 cattle potentially ate same feed as BSE cow (2/5/06)
DOw Jones newswires have reported that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, or CFIA, has identified 23 live cattle potentially exposed to the same feed as an affected animal that was confirmed as having BSE, or mad-cow disease, on April 16. These animals have been quarantined and will be tested.
The CFIA said that investigators continue to trace other animals from the feed cohort. To date, a number of animals from this group are known to have been exported to the U.S.

US ranchers seek to bar Japan, Canada beef imports (27/4/06)
News agency Reuters has reported that American ranchers' group R-CALF said on Wednesday it was considering legal action after its members voted to try to stop the U.S. government from importing cattle and beef products from animals over 30 months old from BSE-affected countries.
R-CALF has used litigation in the past to try to keep U.S. borders closed, and succeeded in delaying the resumption of Canadian beef and cattle imports in the wake of the country's first case of mad cow disease, or BSE.

South Korean team heads to US for beef trade talks (20/4/06)
South Korea is sending representatives to the US this week as part of an effort to resume imports of US beef, according to US government and industry officials. The team is expected to further investigate the recent mad-cow case in Alabama, before going on to inspect US beef processing facilities, according to a USDA official.

 
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