S. Korea strengthens inspection on U.S. beef imports after mad cow disease outbreak

SEOUL, May 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korea on Monday began strengthening quarantine inspection on U.S. beef imports after the outbreak of a mad cow disease in the United States.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it decided to increase the proportion of sampling inspections on imported U.S. beef from 3 percent to 10 percent beginning Monday as a preliminary measure.

It followed the confirmation of an atypical case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) at a slaughterhouse in South Carolina.

The ministry asked the U.S. government to provide epidemiological information on the atypical BSE outbreak, noting that it will take additional measures, if necessary, after reviewing the U.S. epidemiological probe and having meetings with relevant agencies and experts.

There has been no case of the atypical BSE that led to human infection, according to the ministry.