November 8, 2013
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently announced a final rule that will align the Agency’s import regulations for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or “mad cow disease”) with international standards, according to a USDA news release available here.
Dr. John Clifford, APHIS Deputy Administrator and Chief Veterinary Officer, said, “This action will bring our BSE import regulations in line with international standards, which call for countries to base their trade policies on the actual risk of animal or products harboring the disease…Making these changes will further demonstrate to our trading partners our commitment to international standards and sound science, and we are hopeful it will help open new markets and remove remaining restrictions on U.S. products.”
The new rule would abandon the tougher standards USDA adopted in 1998, which banned imports of boneless beef from countries with mad cow cases, according to an article by DTN Progressive Farmer available here. Food Safety News reports that the U.S. will potentially open its markets to beef from the European Union, which have been restricted since 1998. The U.S. imports about 8.1 percent of its beef supply, mostly from Canada and Mexico. About 10 percent of U.S. beef is exported.
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Scott George said the rule would be integral to expanding international beef trade and called it “great news for the cattle industry.”
Dr. Michael Hansen, senior staff scientist at Consumers Union, said that the new rule could put consumers and U.S. cattle at risk. Hansen cited a study that found about one in 2,000 people in the United Kingdom were silent carriers of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of BSE. The study is available here.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, applauded USDA’s action saying, “This effort is crucial to breaking down the countries’ unfounded trade barriers and re-opening trade markets that are closed to U.S. beef.” A press release from Sen. Stabenow’s office is available here.
For more information on food safety and international trade, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website hereand here.
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