March 25, 2016

'Isolated' case of mad cow disease detected in France

A lone case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease) has been detected in France, the first in five years.

"A suspected case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, detected in a five-year-old cow which died prematurely at a cattle farm in Ardennes, was confirmed on March 23 by the European Union reference laboratory," the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

Stressing that the BSE incident was an isolated case, the ministry said, "The detection of this case has no impact for the consumer".

Canada, which reopened its market to beef imports from France and 18 other EU member states in October last year, announced Thursday, March 24, it would not impose a ban on French beef imports.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency told Agence France Presse (AFP) that it had evaluated the French beef inspection system and was confident the beef products were safe.

Canada banned EU beef imports in 1996 due to mad cow disease concerns.

Last year Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Vietnam also reopened their markets to French beef exports. French authorities said it was probable they would close their markets again.