MAD COW DISEASE

Canada Retreats From Broad U.S. Beef Import Plan Canada has backtracked from a plan to allow the import of a broad range of U.S. cattle and beef in the wake of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease, a veterinary official said on Wednesday. Canada had planned to allow import of U.S. cattle born in 1998 or later, and meat from cattle of any age from which the brains, spines and other mad-cow disease risk materials had been removed. "It was determined that it would be premature to completely remove the prohibitions as proposed ... as this time," said Billy Hewett, director of policy with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's international affairs division. Instead, Canada has decided to allow imports of U.S. feeder cattle under 30 months of age, according to a regulation made effective late on Tuesday. Young U.S. cattle bound for Canadian slaughterhouses were never banned, and those imports can continue, Hewett said. Cattle under 30 months of age are considered to be at low risk of developing bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. A ban on breeding stock and beef from older U.S. animals will continue, Hewett said....
Standard set for cattle to cross borders Canada, the United States and Mexico have agreed to a single North American import standard related to mad cow disease, Federal Agriculture Minister Andy Mitchell said yesterday. The standard, negotiated at a recent meeting in Mexico City, reflects guidelines laid out by the World Organization for Animal Health. It says that, as long as the materials most likely to cause mad cow disease are being removed from the animal at slaughter, and as long as animals are not being imported from herds where the disease has been found, then it should be safe for animals to move across borders. "It's a very important agreement between the three countries," Mitchell said. "You can trade cattle between countries so long as you take certain steps and we are pleased that we have all three countries on side." With the new standard, Mexico has indicated that it will begin a regulatory process that will eventually lead to the opening of its border to live Canadian cattle. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency estimates that will begin within three or four months. Canada will also re-open its borders to American cattle. Mitchell said that will take effect tomorrow....
More than 1 million petition for resumption of U.S. beef imports More than a million people and restaurants have signed a petition urging the government to drop a ban on U.S. beef imports prompted by mad cow disease, organizers said Wednesday. Nearly 1.2 million people nationwide signed the petition, which was submitted to the Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday to urge the early resumption of U.S. beef imports, campaign spokesman Yasuharu Tagaya said. "We want U.S. beef back so we can enjoy dishes such as 'gyu-don' (beef and rice) and barbecued tongue," Tagaya said. "American beef tastes good, almost like homegrown beef." U.S. beef is crucial for restaurants serving such cheap dishes, because they use cow parts that are unpopular in the United States and are inexpensive to import....
California cattle ranchers divided on Canadian beef import ban California cattle ranchers are deeply divided over whether the United States should lift a ban on Canadian beef imports put in place nearly two years ago after mad cow disease was discovered in Canada. "There has never been an issue as divisive and emotionally charged as this ban on Canadian imports," said Ben Higgins, executive vice president of the California Cattlemen's Association. "We're concerned that permitting unrestricted trade with that country would have an adverse effect on our live cattle marketplace." Some California ranchers are worried that reopening the U.S. northern border would result in a flood of Canadian beef imports that would lower cattle prices at a time when the lucrative Japanese market is closed to American cattle producers. Lifting the ban also could jeopardize efforts to persuade Japan, South Korea and other Asian countries to buy U.S. beef if they believe Canadian cattle isn't safe, they say. Other ranchers say reopening the border would help American meatpackers that are suffering without Canadian cattle. It also could help persuade Japan and other countries to reopen their markets by demonstrating that mad cow disease can be controlled and eradicated. "The Japanese are turning the tables on us," said Livermore rancher Darrel Sweet, the president of the cattlemen's association until last year. "They're saying, 'You want us to open up our markets to you, but you don't want to open up your markets to the Canadians?'" California is the country's seventh largest beef producer and the nation's No. 1 dairy state....
Illegal meat trade is uncovered Some butchers in south London are trading in illegal meat which could cause mad cow disease, a BBC Watchdog investigation has revealed. Three shops were selling the African delicacy smokies, a carcass blow torched with the skin and fleece on for a chargrilled flavour. They are illegal because they are sold with the brain and spinal cord. When confronted one butcher denied the allegation while the other claimed not to know smokies were illegal....

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