Vegetables of Mass Destruction - No Chicken Left Behind
US - The government recognizes the need to keep bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), better known as Mad Cow, out of the food chain, and we all expect it to. This involves (among other things) testing animals to make sure none of them carry BSE -...

US Loses Steam In Regaining Asian Beef Markets
US - The latest deal struck by U.S. negotiators to resume beef exports to Asia has so far yielded no new business, and trade has even taken a small step backward, with new restrictions now that more mad-cow concerns have surfaced regarding neighboring...

USDA rule change speaks to need for COOL
USDA - On October 3rd, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service changed the rules governing U.S. beef exports to Taiwan, prohibiting shipment to Taiwan of beef derived from Canadian slaughter cattle. USDA opened the U.S. border to Canadian slaughter...

Despite easing of beef bans, restrictions still hamper U.S. exports
US - From Taiwan stopping importing Canadian beef products from the United States to South Korea's strict rules about bone fragments, it continues to be a rough ride for the U.S. beef industry even though more countries have begun lifting their bans...

Mexico Opens Markets to U.S. Dairy Heifers
US - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced that Mexico will resume trade in U.S. dairy heifers under 24 months of age. "I am pleased with this first step in reestablishing cattle trade with Mexico, but I remain committed to a broader...

Taiwan to Stop Importing Canadian Beef Products from U.S.
US - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued on Tuesday updated export requirements for Taiwan regarding fresh/frozen boneless beef derived from Canadian cattle under 30 months of age....

Japan accepts US beef imports
US - The California Cattlemen’s Association has announced that Japan will be once again accepting imports of U.S. beef. The opening of the Japanese market came after a month-long audit of 35 meat processing facilities in the U.S. to ensure that...

Reception In Japan To U.S. Beef Pleases USMEF Leaders
US - Although there is still a lot of work to do, leaders of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) say they are “extremely pleased by the reception” to the reintroduction of U.S. beef in Japan. In a telephone press conference from Osaka...

Show cattle remain BSE casualties
US - Carleton Place area Hereford producer Mack James remembers the good old days before BSE, before stringent border regulations, when a man could haul his best animals unimpeded into the U.S. for showing at the Great New York State Fair. That was...

US Feed Ban May Be Too Costly To Industry
US - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may have underestimated the cost to industry of the government's plan to improve the way mad-cow disease contamination is kept out of livestock feed, Steve Sundlof, director of the FDA Center for Veterinary...

South Korea Resumes Importation of U.S. Boneless Beef
US - The Republic of Korea announced on September 7 that it will resume importing U.S. boneless beef, but only from cattle less than 30 months of age. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, in a statement released the same day, said: “Trade...

U.S. Beef Finally Cleared for Import
SOUTH KOREA - Korea has finally lifted a ban on U.S. beef imports after an inspection of 36 meat processing facilities in the U.S. in May and September found no problems, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Friday. Seoul and Washington earlier...

BSE-Induced Beef Trade Ban Still Haunts U.S. Market
US - The U.S. beef industry probably lost from $3.2 billion to $4.7 billion during 2004 after Japan and South Korea banned imports of the product following discovery of a BSE case in the U.S. South Korea has since lifted its ban and may begin importing...

Canadian BSE Case May Indicate Testing Regimes Are Missing Infections
US - The 50-month-old dairy cow dairy cow found on a farm in Alberta evidently showed prion development months earlier than could have been expected, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency report on its investigation of the case. Source:...

British beef available in Cyprus from 2007
CYPRUS - British beef is to be exported for the first time to Cyprus following a decision by the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX) to launch a major marketing campaign through supermarket retailer Carrefour on the island.     ...

Processor seeks OK for own cow testing
US - Creekstone Farms, which wants to test all its animals, is at odds with the USDA. After another futile visit to the nation's capital, John Stewart faced a tough decision. Give up, or let the courts decide. So Stewart, founder and CEO of Creekstone...

Value of BSE testing depends on purpose
US - Science may not argue for greater screening for mad cow disease, but that's not the whole picture. There's a big difference between science and marketing. Science is, well, scientific. Marketing sometimes involves science, but also large measures...

Japan's all-out ban on U.S. beef imports could lead to trade war: Johanns
US - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns warned Wednesday that Japan's possible all-out import ban on U.S. beef in case of another ineligible shipment from the United States would precipitate a bilateral trade war. Source: Mainichi

On The Farm: Mad cow disease can be prevented
US - As discussed in recent weeks, the United States is seriously threatened by potential occurrences of foreign animal diseases. Based on epidemiological studies, the state and federal animal health regulatory agencies have developed safeguards to...

US delays lifting partial Canadian cattle ban
US - It looks like a string of recent cases of BSE in Canadian cattle may have some consequences after all. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this weekend it was postponing the re-opening of the border to older Canadian cattle pending an...