Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) on Friday said the policy on beef imports from the US will remain in place, despite confirmation of a fifth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, earlier this week.
Opposition lawmakers have urged the government to ban US beef imports in the wake of the latest mad cow disease case.
Chen said the ministry’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened a meeting of experts yesterday, which concluded no policy adjustment is necessary.
“The experts evaluated the facts and concluded that the case should have no impact on Taiwan,” he said.
Chen said that the experts had confirmed in the meeting that none of the 64 slaughterhouses that provide Taiwan with US beef products are in the state of Alabama, where BSE cases have been reported.
One of the infected cows was 11 years old, while US beef imports are limited to specified meat products from cattle under 30 months, he said.
The US Department of Agriculture said the cow in Alabama tested positive for an atypical strain of the disease, which is less serious than the typical strain.
“This animal never entered slaughterhouse channels and at no time presented a risk to the food supply, or to human health in the US,” the department said.
It was the fifth case of mad cow disease in the US this year, the department said, adding that the first case was typical BSE imported from Canada, while the others were atypical (H or L-type) BSE.
Chen said Taiwan would send representatives to the US tomorrow to better understand the situation.
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