U.S. okay with latest Alberta mad cow discovery
Updated Mon. Jan. 23 2006 3:13 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
The United States has no plans to stop Canadian cattle imports after a six-year-old cow in Alberta tested positive for mad cow disease.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said he does not expect any change in the status of beef or live cattle imports from Canada.
Johanns said in a statement Monday that he's confident about the safety of beef and in the safeguards the U.S. and its trading partners have in place to protect the food supply.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed the latest case of mad cow disease Monday.
No parts of the animal were processed for the human food system, CFIA chief veterinary officer Dr. Brian Evans told a news conference in Alberta.
"This animal was detected on the farm where it was born and no part of this animal entered the food for human consumption or feed for animal consumption purposes systems," Evans said.
The new case comes a day after federal agriculture inspectors sent what was termed a "suspicious sample" to a Winnipeg lab for further testing.
Describing the test results as "unwelcome but not unexpected," Evans insisted the Canadian food supply was "safe."
"The entire carcass has been contained by the CFIA," he told reporters, adding the age of the animal was the "critical issue."
"It's age and geographic location are consistent with Canada's previous BSE cases detected under our national surveillance program."
Stan Eby, president of the 90,000-member Canadian Cattlemen's Association, played down the new case, saying it would have "very little impact" on the industry.
"The BSE biology is much better understood now than it was in 2003. We've realized it's not a human health problem. It's an animal health situation," he told reporters Monday.
Eby said Canada had so far tested more than 70,000 cattle.
"With our active surveillance program we knew we would find a few more cases, so this should not come as any shock to our open markets," he added.
It's the fourth such case in Canada since the first one was discovered in May 2003 in Alberta. A U.S. animal that tested positive for BSE two years ago also came from Alberta.
Cattle ban
Canada's beef and dairy cattle breeding industry has been shut out of the United States since the discovery of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in 2003.
A subsequent two-year ban on Canadian beef cost the industry an estimated $7 billion.
The Americans did, however, reopen their border to young Canadian cattle last July, and Japan -- one of Canada's largest markets -- followed in December.
But during the weekend, Japan announced it would again be halting U.S. imports of beef, after an animal spine was found in a beef shipment at Tokyo International Airport. Such body parts are believed to be at high risk of mad cow disease.
Canada has a surplus of about 900,000 older cattle that can't be shipped south because of lingering fears they may harbour BSE. Older cattle are believed to have a higher risk of carrying the disease.
Mad cow disease is a degenerative nerve disease in cattle. It has been linked to the fatal nerve disorder in humans -- variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
Updated Mon. Jan. 23 2006 3:13 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
The United States has no plans to stop Canadian cattle imports after a six-year-old cow in Alberta tested positive for mad cow disease.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said he does not expect any change in the status of beef or live cattle imports from Canada.
Johanns said in a statement Monday that he's confident about the safety of beef and in the safeguards the U.S. and its trading partners have in place to protect the food supply.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed the latest case of mad cow disease Monday.
No parts of the animal were processed for the human food system, CFIA chief veterinary officer Dr. Brian Evans told a news conference in Alberta.
"This animal was detected on the farm where it was born and no part of this animal entered the food for human consumption or feed for animal consumption purposes systems," Evans said.
The new case comes a day after federal agriculture inspectors sent what was termed a "suspicious sample" to a Winnipeg lab for further testing.
Describing the test results as "unwelcome but not unexpected," Evans insisted the Canadian food supply was "safe."
"The entire carcass has been contained by the CFIA," he told reporters, adding the age of the animal was the "critical issue."
"It's age and geographic location are consistent with Canada's previous BSE cases detected under our national surveillance program."
Stan Eby, president of the 90,000-member Canadian Cattlemen's Association, played down the new case, saying it would have "very little impact" on the industry.
"The BSE biology is much better understood now than it was in 2003. We've realized it's not a human health problem. It's an animal health situation," he told reporters Monday.
Eby said Canada had so far tested more than 70,000 cattle.
"With our active surveillance program we knew we would find a few more cases, so this should not come as any shock to our open markets," he added.
It's the fourth such case in Canada since the first one was discovered in May 2003 in Alberta. A U.S. animal that tested positive for BSE two years ago also came from Alberta.
Cattle ban
Canada's beef and dairy cattle breeding industry has been shut out of the United States since the discovery of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in 2003.
A subsequent two-year ban on Canadian beef cost the industry an estimated $7 billion.
The Americans did, however, reopen their border to young Canadian cattle last July, and Japan -- one of Canada's largest markets -- followed in December.
But during the weekend, Japan announced it would again be halting U.S. imports of beef, after an animal spine was found in a beef shipment at Tokyo International Airport. Such body parts are believed to be at high risk of mad cow disease.
Canada has a surplus of about 900,000 older cattle that can't be shipped south because of lingering fears they may harbour BSE. Older cattle are believed to have a higher risk of carrying the disease.
Mad cow disease is a degenerative nerve disease in cattle. It has been linked to the fatal nerve disorder in humans -- variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.