March 16, 2006

 

USDA acts to calm South Korea's BSE concerns

 

 

US Department of Agriculture officials are carrying out further investigations on the Alabama cow confirmed to have contracted mad cow disease in an effort to alleviate concerns of South Korea, which is scheduled to send a delegation to the US next week as part of the country's process of resuming beef imports from the US.

 

A USDA official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of beef trade, confirmed reports that South Korea is still on track to ease its ban on US beef, but the Asian country is concerned primarily about the age of the cow found with the latest case of mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

 

If a BSE-infected cow were shown to have been born after the US cattle feed safety rules were in place, that could cast doubts on the effectiveness of this key US safeguard against the disease.

 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned bovine material from cattle feed in 1997 because it is believed that BSE can be spread in herds when cattle eat infected tissue from rendered cattle. FDA and USDA officials have said they believe contaminated feed is the way in which two previous BSE-infected cows found in the US contracted the brain-wasting disease.

 

Since the 1997 rules were put in place, US officials have said many times that they are a strong safeguard against the spread of BSE.

 

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has already begun an investigation into ownership, sales and other records to try to track the cow's origin and age.

Brain samples of the cow had been removed for testing, and the animal was killed and then buried on an Alabama farm, but not before a local veterinarian determined through a dental exam that it was about 10 years old.

 

Federal and state officials decided later that the carcass of the cow be exhumed in the hope of gaining more accurate information on how old the animal was.

 

The US Department of Agriculture said it will look for additional clues about the cow that might have been missed when it was buried.

 

"One of the first steps in this investigation will be the recovery of the carcass for examination to allow (USDA) investigators to directly examine the breed and age of the animal as well as check the animal for any form of identification such as ear-tags," the USDA said.

 

South Korea has delayed sending a delegation to the US to inspect the safety of US beef packing plants twice in the past several weeks, and the visit is now scheduled for next week. A USDA official said the department is trying to get the information South Korea has requested on the latest BSE case before the visit.