| StatementU.S.Meat Export FederationPresident and CEO Philip SengWednesda...

 

Statement
U.S.Meat Export Federation
President and CEO Philip Seng
Wednesday, December 26, 2003

With the USDA announcement Thursday (Dec. 25) that there is now confirmation that a single case of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as "mad cow disease") has been found in a Washington state dairy cow, the U.S. Meat Export Federation continues to work closely with our trading partners to mitigate the impact of this discovery. We are confident that the U.S. beef production system is safe and the discovery of a single case of BSE doesn’t change this fact.

The infected animal was harvested in a small plant that was not approved under the beef export verification program and has limited, regional distribution. The risk to human health here in the U.S. is extremely small; to our trading partners, it is virtually non-existent.

Unfortunately, most of our trading partners have taken immediate action to temporarily and totally close their borders to U.S. beef. One notable exception was the action taken by the government of Canada to establish restrictions based on science. As a result, we will be able to continue to ship boned beef from animals under 30 months of age to that country. We appreciate the leadership position taken by the Canadians and suggest to other trading partners theirs is a good example to follow.

Beef exports last year were valued at more than $3.2 billion and were on track to exceed that level in 2003. We have the immediate problem of dealing with more than 1,800 containers of fresh and frozen beef that are currently en route to countries that have chosen to immediately halt access to U.S. products. This product, shipped prior to the discovery of BSE, we believe, is safe and should be allowed into commerce. We are encouraged by the planned visits to Japan, Korea and possibly other Asian trading partners by a high-level USDA team led by David Hegwood, special counsel to Secretary Venemen, to discuss this situation one-on-one with these trading partners. We are committed to doing everything we can, working closely with the USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service, to restore our trade as quickly as possible.

Our message to our trading partners continues to include the following points:

·   The United States government is working to ensure that the investigation of this incident is rapid, accurate and thorough, and we will keep our trading partners and the Organization of International Epizootics (OIE) informed of all developments.

·   As part of our BSE response plan, the farm from which the suspect animal came has been quarantined.

·   The plant where the Holstein cow was slaughtered was not a participant in the beef export verification (BEV) program, meaning it does not export beef.

·   USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have developed and are implementing emergency response plans to prevent the unlikely spread of the disease.

·   The U.S. recognizes that the OIE has established guidelines for trade in animals and animal products from countries that have detected cases of BSE. The U.S. government and private industry have been working with the OIE in advancing the science and application of safe trade in animal and animal products. This is especially important for countries that have put in place effective measures over a number of years to manage the risk of BSE and have taken aggressive steps to respond – as the U.S. has done.

There continues to be ample reason to maintain confidence in the U.S. beef production system, and USMEF and USDA will do everything in their power to communicate this confidence to our trading partners worldwide.