Canada Keeping an Eye on U.S. BSE Case

[unhappycamper]

Canada Keeping an Eye on U.S. BSE Case
USAgNet - 06/15/2005

There is no reason for Canada or any other country that imports cattle or beef from the United States to impose any new trade restricting measures should the animal being re-tested for BSE be confirmed as positive, says the Canadian Cattlemen's Association. By the same token, there is no reason for the United States or other countries to maintain any remaining restrictions on Canadian beef or cattle exports, says the group.

The United States Department of Agriculture has announced that a bovine brain sample that had previously tested inconclusive using two rapid tests for BSE, then tested negative on an IHC test, was recently tested again using the Western Blot test with a presumptive positive result. The sample is now being flown to the BSE World Reference Laboratory in Weybridge, England for further testing.

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Both Canadian and U.S. authorities have stated it would not be unexpected to find a few additional cases of BSE on either side of the border. Regulations related to food safety, animal feed and international trade in both countries have been designed with this possibility in mind.

http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.cfm?Id=608&yr=2005