May 23, 2007

OIE grants "BSE-controlled risk" to US, Canadian beef

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has relaxed its stance on US and Canadian beef, granting a "controlled risk" for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) at its annual general meeting on May 22.

This decision is expected to fuel beef exports of these countries which have been crippled by mad cow disease a few years ago.

The new rating is set to prompt major markets such as South Korea, Japan, Russia and China to soften its import restrictions and accept all meat and meat products of any age once certain risk materials are removed.

Some markets have reopened their markets partially but the US strongly advocates for the resumption of full trade.

US exports could increase by close to US$2 billion a year if trade resumed fully with China, Russia, South Korea, Japan and several other Asian countries, John Reddington of the American Meat Institute said.

On the other hand, Canada's export-dependent cattle industry has also been struggling to recover from trade embargoes due to first native-born case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, found in May 2003.

Canadian breeding cattle are currently allowed into 11 countries. Recently, exporters made shipments of pure bred cattle to Russia, heifers to Barbados and bulls to South Korea.