May 26, 2005

World Animal Health Organisation to introduce new mad cow disease country rating system

The world animal health organisation OIE hopes to set new guidelines this week on beef exports and countries' risk of mad cow that could shake up the multi-billion dollar international meat trade.

The OIE wants to simplify the way countries are judged to be at risk from the disease, by switching to a three-tier system rather than a five-tier model. Such a three category risk system would put better emphasis on the relative safety of beef exports rather than purely the number of mad cow cases a country has registered.

The lowest category would be named 'negligible risk without mitigating measures', followed by 'negligible risk with mitigating measures' and finally with 'undetermined risk'.

The lowest or first category is for countries with no BSE history and the second for those that have had or may have had cases. Both require risk assessment and strict surveillance to be in place. Extra controls would be imposed on second category countries. All other countries with no surveillance measures would be in a third category.

Britain, for example, where BSE first emerged in the 1980s and went on to devastate the beef industry, was currently in the highest risk category of the five-tier system but would be placed in the middle class under the new classification because of its long history of risk awareness and robust surveillance. This would shift focus from its status rating and further trade opportunities instead.

The OIE has recommended that certain cattle products such as milk and dairy produce, hides and skins, embryos and semen be free to be traded regardless of a country's classification. Deboned red meat could soon be added to this list as well.