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US beef imports suspended after BSE outbreak

"If the case is confirmed, the US will be declared a mad cow disease-affected area, which will extend the [import] ban for seven years."

Hsiao Tsung-yao, Council of Agriculture official

The government yesterday announced an immediate suspension of imports of US beef and related products after the first suspected case of cattle infected with mad cow disease was reported in the US on Tuesday.

"To protect the local livestock industry and the safety of domestic animals, we decided to halt the imports of beef, sheep and other items from the US immediately," Chiang Yi-nan (江益男), director of the Council of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine, told a press conference yesterday.

Imported items banned include beef, sheep products, dried blood, powdered bones, oil for livestock grains, serum, and other products that may spread the disease, Chiang said.

Taiwan may declare the US a mad cow disease-affected area should a test for mad cow disease on a lone Holstein cow in Washington state be confirmed. The US authorities have sent the infected sample to the World Organization for Animal Health in the UK for a definitive diagnosis. The result is expected in about five days.

"If the case is confirmed, the US will be declared a mad cow disease-affected area, which will extend the ban for seven years in accordance with a World Organization for Animal Health regulation," said Hsiao Tsung-yao (蕭宗堯), a division director at the bureau.

Asked whether the import ban will impact on beef prices here, Chiang said he expects local beef prices may rise but should not be too drastic. To meet market demand, local importers are expected to import more beef from other countries including Australia and New Zealand, he added.

According to council statistics, Taiwan imported more than 35,000 tonnes of beef and related products from Australia, 15,400 tonnes from New Zealand and 13,900 tonnes from the US last year.

Canada was the fourth largest supplier, with 3,800 tons, but the government has banned imports from Canada due to a single case of mad cow disease found there in late May.

The suspension of US beef imports beef is expected to increase imports from Australia and New Zealand, which have been Taiwan's two largest beef import sources accounting for about 80 percent of the total, Hsiao said.

In an attempt to reassure local consumers Department of Health (DOH) Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Pharmaceutical Affairs Yu Wan-neng (余萬能) said:

"The cow that contracted mad cow disease was a milk cow that wasn't intended to be sold on the market."

"Research shows that consumption of milk or milk products from infected cattle does not lead to the contraction of the disease. No other countries are banning milk right now," Yu said.

"We have put a halt to importing beef products from the US, however, the import ban does not cover any milk products, hide, or skin," he said.

The DOH further said that the government would not be banning beef products currently on the market.

"Actually, only a very small percentage of the beef that we import from the US comes from Washington state. In addition, the World Organization for Animal Health's records for previous cases of mad cow disease show that the risk of contracting mad cow disease-related disorders from beef products put on the market before the identification of infected cattle is pretty small," Yu said.
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