March 13, 2007

Mad cow disease in US 'controlled' - OIE
 

 

The World Organization for Animal Health or the Office des Epizooties Internationale (OIE) has provisionally ruled that the United States has mad cow disease under control, prompting importing countries such as South Korea likely to further open its beef market.

 

The United States will be a 'controlled risk' for mad cow disease, a medium level assessment between 'undetermined risk' and 'negligible risk' the US Department of Agriculture announced on its Web site Friday (March 9).

 

Under the guidelines of the international organization, countries with the controlled risk classification can export all of their beef without restriction, except for specified risky material such as skull bones, brains and vertebrae. South Korea now only allows boneless beef under the age of 30 months from the United States.

 

Ron de Haven, administrator of the US Animal and Plant Health said the recommendation provides "strong support that US regulatory controls are effective and that US cattle and products from cattle of all ages can be safely traded in accordance with international guidelines".

 

South Korea's Agriculture Ministry said in a statement yesterday (March 12) that they are yet to receive an official notification from the OIE.

 

The ministry stressed OIE rules dictate the organization will ask its member countries to review the recommendation and present their comments prior to a final decision at its general meeting in late May. Unless strong arguments are lodged by the 170 OIE members, the recommendation will be adopted in the general meeting in Paris, said the ministry.

 

Member states are not obliged to follow the OIE's stance, the agriculture ministry added, and with sufficient scientific evidence to refute the observations, individual members can take their own standards.

 

But it will be difficult to ignore the OIE's view, US analysts said and Washington may apply pressure immediately in connection with the free trade talks with Korea.

 

In January 2006, South Korea agreed to resume imports of boneless beef but all American shipments were rejected due to discovery of bone shards.

 

Last week, South Korea proposed returning individual packages of meat containing bone fragments but not the entire shipment which means American beef could appear on local shelves.

 

However, the US side has insisted that full liberalisation must take place for boned beef, such as ribs. Before the 2003 ban, cow ribs accounted for more than half of all US beef exports. In addition to US beef, the organization recommended a controlled risk classification for Canada. South Korea has banned imported beef from Canada since June 2003.