Irish beef exports to China suspended as atypical BSE case confirmed

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has today (Tuesday, November 7) confirmed that beef exports to China have been suspended after tests confirmed a case of atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). In a statement, DAFM said “tests carried out at the department’s Central Veterinary Research Laboratory confirmed a case of atypical BSE on November 3”. According to DAFM, “the animal in question was a 10-and-a-half-year-old cow and was identified during the department’s on-going systematic surveillance of fallen animals at knackeries”. “The animal did not enter the food or feed chain and there are no public health risks associated with this occurrence,” the DAFM stated. The most recent case of ‘atypical BSE’ in Ireland was identified in 2020. Advertisement Ireland was granted the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) negligible risk status for BSE in 2021, which is the lowest risk rating available. Atypical BSE is not a condition which is notifiable ...