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US Lifts Mad Cow Ban on Brazil Beef Imports
The United States conditionally lifted a three-week-old ban on Brazilian processed beef products after finding no evidence of mad cow disease or its deadly human variation, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Friday.
Mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is believed to have spread from Britain to other countries when the bones, spinal cord and other remains of diseased cattle were ground up for use in livestock feed.
Nearly 90 people in Britain, France and Ireland have died from or been diagnosed with the human version, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).
The United States and its close trade partners Canada and Mexico on Feb. 2 issued a temporary ban on imports of Brazilian beef gravy, corned beef, gelatins and other canned beef products amid concerns that its cattle might have come into contact with cattle from Europe.
Canada, who was the first to issue the NAFTA-wide ban, lifted its own ban soon after the US announcement on Friday.
"There is no evidence of BSE in Brazil," the USDA said. "Imports are to resume immediately."
(www.chinadaily.com.cn)
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