Latest BSE Case Shows Canadian BSE Problem Worse Than First Thought
Source: R-CALF USA
BILLINGS, MONT. (July 6, 2006) The Canadian government confirmed another positive case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) on July 4, 2006. Canada's total reported BSE cases now number eight – one detected in a cow imported from Great Britain in 1993 and seven detected in native-born Canadian cattle.
"It is clear that Canada's BSE problem is making it more difficult for U.S. beef to get back into the markets of South Korea and Japan," said R-CALF USA President Chuck Kiker. "We need to be able to differentiate high-quality U.S. beef from Canadian beef to gain full resumption of U.S. exports. I hope that President Bush will ask the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make this important policy change. I also ask the President to urge Canadian Prime Minister Harper to increase BSE testing and take other mitigation measures to get this problem under control," Kiker continued.
South Korea recently informed the U.S. that it was delaying the resumption of imports of U.S. beef because it was concerned that the U.S. was commingling Canadian beef with U.S. beef.
Kiker said that because USDA policies allow Canadian beef to be commingled with U.S. beef, and remain indistinguishable to consumers, the U.S. cattle industry is unnecessarily tying its reputation to the Canadian cattle herd. "USDA must take immediate action to protect the integrity and viability of the U.S. cattle industry."
Kiker said R-CALF USA is calling on USDA to immediately implement the following reforms:
1. Postpone indefinitely the agency's plans to further liberalize U.S. import restrictions by allowing Canadian cattle and beef over 30 months of age into the United States.
2. Immediately adopt and enforce the more stringent BSE import standards that are applied and practiced by all other BSE-affected countries, with the exception of the U.S. and Canada, and which continue to apply to U.S. beef and cattle exports. This would include a requirement that high-risk tissues be removed from Canadian cattle at 12 months of age and a restriction on the scope of imported products, such as only boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months of age.
3. Immediately reverse the USDA policy of granting access for imports to the U.S. market before the U.S. regains market access in foreign countries.
4. Immediately begin differentiating beef produced exclusively from U.S. cattle from beef produced from foreign cattle with a country-of-origin label.
5. Urge the Canadian government to increase BSE testing to the level necessary to determine the true prevalence of BSE in the Canadian cattle herd, including mandatory testing of all high risk cattle.
One of the seven Canadian-origin BSE cases was detected in the U.S. in December 2003, and the remaining six were detected in Canada from a test sample size of about 115,000 total cattle tested since the disease was first detected in Canada's native cattle herd in May 2003. During the past 12 months, however, the true scope of Canada's BSE problem has become more evident, with 3 positive cases detected within a test sample size of only about 55,346 cattle tested.
The latest detection confirms that the scope of Canada's BSE problem is clearly worse than first thought. Canada's ratio of positive BSE cases per 10,000 cattle tested under its enhanced testing program over the past 12 months is 0.54 cases per 10,000 cattle tested, which is higher than the 12-month ratios reported by many European Union (EU) countries for 2004.
In June 2005, the EU issued a detailed report on the monitoring and testing of cattle for BSE in 2004. (The report on 2005 testing has not yet been released.) In that report, the EU determined the ratio of the total positive cases per number of "risk" cattle tested in each of the Member-States of the European Union, including the United Kingdom.[1] A comparison of Canada's BSE statistics with data compiled for each member of the EU reveals that Canada's ratio of BSE positive cattle for the past 12 months of 0.54 is the same as or higher than the 2004 ratios of all but six of the 15 original countries of the EU, which, similar to Canada, all reported results of testing "risk" cattle including fallen stock, animals with clinical signs, and cattle subject to emergency slaughter. Canada's 12-month ratio is now comparable to or higher than the 2004 ratios reported for Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and the Netherlands.
In addition, Canada's BSE prevalence rate has increased. In 2005, based on four indigenous cases at the time, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) calculated Canada's BSE prevalence rate at .145 cases per million head of adult cattle. With three new cases detected in 2006, Canada's BSE prevalence rate, based on its adult herd size of approximately six million cattle, has risen to approximately 1.166 per million head of cattle.
"In response to data showing that Canada's BSE-positive testing ratio is on par with many European Union countries that have detected relatively high numbers of BSE cases over the past several years, the USDA needs to act swiftly so any negative perception that major world beef importers may have regarding Canada's BSE status does not continue to translate into further delays in reopening lost U.S. export markets," said Kiker.
# # #
R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on domestic and international trade and marketing issues. R-CALF USA, a national, non-profit organization, is dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry.
r-calfusa.com
Source: R-CALF USA
BILLINGS, MONT. (July 6, 2006) The Canadian government confirmed another positive case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) on July 4, 2006. Canada's total reported BSE cases now number eight – one detected in a cow imported from Great Britain in 1993 and seven detected in native-born Canadian cattle.
"It is clear that Canada's BSE problem is making it more difficult for U.S. beef to get back into the markets of South Korea and Japan," said R-CALF USA President Chuck Kiker. "We need to be able to differentiate high-quality U.S. beef from Canadian beef to gain full resumption of U.S. exports. I hope that President Bush will ask the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make this important policy change. I also ask the President to urge Canadian Prime Minister Harper to increase BSE testing and take other mitigation measures to get this problem under control," Kiker continued.
South Korea recently informed the U.S. that it was delaying the resumption of imports of U.S. beef because it was concerned that the U.S. was commingling Canadian beef with U.S. beef.
Kiker said that because USDA policies allow Canadian beef to be commingled with U.S. beef, and remain indistinguishable to consumers, the U.S. cattle industry is unnecessarily tying its reputation to the Canadian cattle herd. "USDA must take immediate action to protect the integrity and viability of the U.S. cattle industry."
Kiker said R-CALF USA is calling on USDA to immediately implement the following reforms:
1. Postpone indefinitely the agency's plans to further liberalize U.S. import restrictions by allowing Canadian cattle and beef over 30 months of age into the United States.
2. Immediately adopt and enforce the more stringent BSE import standards that are applied and practiced by all other BSE-affected countries, with the exception of the U.S. and Canada, and which continue to apply to U.S. beef and cattle exports. This would include a requirement that high-risk tissues be removed from Canadian cattle at 12 months of age and a restriction on the scope of imported products, such as only boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months of age.
3. Immediately reverse the USDA policy of granting access for imports to the U.S. market before the U.S. regains market access in foreign countries.
4. Immediately begin differentiating beef produced exclusively from U.S. cattle from beef produced from foreign cattle with a country-of-origin label.
5. Urge the Canadian government to increase BSE testing to the level necessary to determine the true prevalence of BSE in the Canadian cattle herd, including mandatory testing of all high risk cattle.
One of the seven Canadian-origin BSE cases was detected in the U.S. in December 2003, and the remaining six were detected in Canada from a test sample size of about 115,000 total cattle tested since the disease was first detected in Canada's native cattle herd in May 2003. During the past 12 months, however, the true scope of Canada's BSE problem has become more evident, with 3 positive cases detected within a test sample size of only about 55,346 cattle tested.
The latest detection confirms that the scope of Canada's BSE problem is clearly worse than first thought. Canada's ratio of positive BSE cases per 10,000 cattle tested under its enhanced testing program over the past 12 months is 0.54 cases per 10,000 cattle tested, which is higher than the 12-month ratios reported by many European Union (EU) countries for 2004.
In June 2005, the EU issued a detailed report on the monitoring and testing of cattle for BSE in 2004. (The report on 2005 testing has not yet been released.) In that report, the EU determined the ratio of the total positive cases per number of "risk" cattle tested in each of the Member-States of the European Union, including the United Kingdom.[1] A comparison of Canada's BSE statistics with data compiled for each member of the EU reveals that Canada's ratio of BSE positive cattle for the past 12 months of 0.54 is the same as or higher than the 2004 ratios of all but six of the 15 original countries of the EU, which, similar to Canada, all reported results of testing "risk" cattle including fallen stock, animals with clinical signs, and cattle subject to emergency slaughter. Canada's 12-month ratio is now comparable to or higher than the 2004 ratios reported for Belgium, Denmark, Italy, and the Netherlands.
In addition, Canada's BSE prevalence rate has increased. In 2005, based on four indigenous cases at the time, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) calculated Canada's BSE prevalence rate at .145 cases per million head of adult cattle. With three new cases detected in 2006, Canada's BSE prevalence rate, based on its adult herd size of approximately six million cattle, has risen to approximately 1.166 per million head of cattle.
"In response to data showing that Canada's BSE-positive testing ratio is on par with many European Union countries that have detected relatively high numbers of BSE cases over the past several years, the USDA needs to act swiftly so any negative perception that major world beef importers may have regarding Canada's BSE status does not continue to translate into further delays in reopening lost U.S. export markets," said Kiker.
# # #
R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on domestic and international trade and marketing issues. R-CALF USA, a national, non-profit organization, is dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry.
r-calfusa.com
