BSE | Inconclusive Test Result Shouldn’t Impact Talks Between Japan And U.S...

BSE

Inconclusive Test Result Shouldn’t Impact Talks Between Japan And U.S.

Discussions on reopening the Japanese market to U.S. beef should not be affected by Friday’s USDA announcement of an inconclusive test result for BSE in a U.S. animal.

“The announcement of an inconclusive result in an initial BSE test demonstrates that the U.S. surveillance system is transparent and working as planned,” commented USMEF President & CEO Philip Seng. “In its testing of domestic cattle, Japan has experienced many inconclusive results that ultimately proved negative.”

Representatives from Japan and the United States began three days of beef trade talks Monday in Colorado, and the inconclusive test result should not have any impact on them. After the next scheduled meeting, July 21-22, the two countries are expected to compile a report and reach a final conclusion “on the resumption of the importation of both American and Japanese beef,” according to USDA Undersecretary J.B. Penn.

Removing specific risk material (SRM) — skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, vertebral column, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of cattle over 30 months of age and the distal ilium of the small intestine of cattle of all ages — from the food supply is the most important part of the U.S. BSE response program, since infectious agents are not found in muscle tissue or non-SRM organs. Another component of the program is the two-part test process. To test a significant number of targeted animals, the U.S. government's first step is a rapid screening test, which can produce inconclusive results as it did in this case. A sample is now being tested at the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa. NVSL has the capability to use the gold standard immunohistochemistry (IHC) test to determine the presence of BSE. The results of this definitive test take 4-7 days.

Inconclusive Test Result Won't Disrupt U.S. Beef Exports To Mexico

Mexican lawmakers visiting Washington yesterday accepted that the inconclusive test result showed that the system is working and not that the U.S. had had a second BSE case. USMEF Director, Mexico Gilberto Lozano led the nine-strong team from Mexico’s House of Representatives in meetings with USDA officials yesterday. Lozano reports that the lawmakers were most concerned that agricultural exports in both directions should receive equal treatment. Today, the lawmakers will be briefed on the specific details of the U.S. BSE prevention program at Kent State University. Tomorrow, they visit a packing plant in Pennsylvania and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food Products (SAGARPA) announced on Monday that the border will remain open to U.S. beef.

BSE

Inconclusive Test Result Shouldn’t Impact Talks Between Japan And U.S.

Discussions on reopening the Japanese market to U.S. beef should not be affected by Friday’s USDA announcement of an inconclusive test result for BSE in a U.S. animal.

“The announcement of an inconclusive result in an initial BSE test demonstrates that the U.S. surveillance system is transparent and working as planned,” commented USMEF President & CEO Philip Seng. “In its testing of domestic cattle, Japan has experienced many inconclusive results that ultimately proved negative.”

Representatives from Japan and the United States began three days of beef trade talks Monday in Colorado, and the inconclusive test result should not have any impact on them. After the next scheduled meeting, July 21-22, the two countries are expected to compile a report and reach a final conclusion “on the resumption of the importation of both American and Japanese beef,” according to USDA Undersecretary J.B. Penn.

Removing specific risk material (SRM) — skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, vertebral column, spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of cattle over 30 months of age and the distal ilium of the small intestine of cattle of all ages — from the food supply is the most important part of the U.S. BSE response program, since infectious agents are not found in muscle tissue or non-SRM organs. Another component of the program is the two-part test process. To test a significant number of targeted animals, the U.S. government's first step is a rapid screening test, which can produce inconclusive results as it did in this case. A sample is now being tested at the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa. NVSL has the capability to use the gold standard immunohistochemistry (IHC) test to determine the presence of BSE. The results of this definitive test take 4-7 days.

Inconclusive Test Result Won't Disrupt U.S. Beef Exports To Mexico

Mexican lawmakers visiting Washington yesterday accepted that the inconclusive test result showed that the system is working and not that the U.S. had had a second BSE case. USMEF Director, Mexico Gilberto Lozano led the nine-strong team from Mexico’s House of Representatives in meetings with USDA officials yesterday. Lozano reports that the lawmakers were most concerned that agricultural exports in both directions should receive equal treatment. Today, the lawmakers will be briefed on the specific details of the U.S. BSE prevention program at Kent State University. Tomorrow, they visit a packing plant in Pennsylvania and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries, and Food Products (SAGARPA) announced on Monday that the border will remain open to U.S. beef.