U.S. | BSE Update Jan. 6 | USDA has suspended daily BSE briefings and will ho...

U.S.

BSE Update Jan. 6

USDA has suspended daily BSE briefings and will hold them in the future as the need dictates.

A herd of 450 containing the calf from the index cow will be depopulated later this week. Primarily a bull calf finishing operation, the herd is being depopulated and eliminated from the food chain because the calf from the index cow was not tagged at birth and USDA is not going to do DNA testing on the whole herd to positively identify the calf. This step is being done from an "abundance of caution" as the potential maternal transmission risk is extremely low.

USDA will not take any action on the proposed rule that would allow reopening the Canadian border to live cattle trade until it is finished with the epidemiological investigation into the BSE case. Once that is completed, USDA will decide on the proper next steps to take with regard to the proposed rule.

A U.S. trade team is in Mexico to talk with officials there regarding beef trade with the United States. USDA's Under Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs Bill Hawks and Under Secretary of Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services J.B. Penn left for Mexico Monday afternoon (Jan. 5) to meet with Mexican government officials about trade concerns arising from the BSE issue.

Japan’s Kyodo News Service reports that a senior Japanese official expressed doubts Monday (5 January) over the effectiveness of safety measures announced by the U.S. government following the BSE case. Vice agriculture minister Yoshiaki Watanabe said the measures “are not as effective as the ones being implemented in Japan."

Today (Jan. 6) Reuters reported that Japanese Agriculture Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei told reporters that the new U.S. BSE measures fell short of what was needed to reassure Japan about the safety of U.S. meat. A Japanese technical team is planning to go to the United States this week to review U.S. safety measures, according to Reuters.

U.S.

BSE Update Jan. 6

USDA has suspended daily BSE briefings and will hold them in the future as the need dictates.

A herd of 450 containing the calf from the index cow will be depopulated later this week. Primarily a bull calf finishing operation, the herd is being depopulated and eliminated from the food chain because the calf from the index cow was not tagged at birth and USDA is not going to do DNA testing on the whole herd to positively identify the calf. This step is being done from an "abundance of caution" as the potential maternal transmission risk is extremely low.

USDA will not take any action on the proposed rule that would allow reopening the Canadian border to live cattle trade until it is finished with the epidemiological investigation into the BSE case. Once that is completed, USDA will decide on the proper next steps to take with regard to the proposed rule.

A U.S. trade team is in Mexico to talk with officials there regarding beef trade with the United States. USDA's Under Secretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs Bill Hawks and Under Secretary of Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services J.B. Penn left for Mexico Monday afternoon (Jan. 5) to meet with Mexican government officials about trade concerns arising from the BSE issue.

Japan’s Kyodo News Service reports that a senior Japanese official expressed doubts Monday (5 January) over the effectiveness of safety measures announced by the U.S. government following the BSE case. Vice agriculture minister Yoshiaki Watanabe said the measures “are not as effective as the ones being implemented in Japan."

Today (Jan. 6) Reuters reported that Japanese Agriculture Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei told reporters that the new U.S. BSE measures fell short of what was needed to reassure Japan about the safety of U.S. meat. A Japanese technical team is planning to go to the United States this week to review U.S. safety measures, according to Reuters.