Mad cows in Brazil won’t change the country’s negligible risk status for BSE

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) won’t make any change to Brazil’s status as a “negligible risk” country for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). Also called “mad cow disease,” BSE is a chronic degenerative disease affecting the central nervous system of cattle. The OIE ruling came just two days after the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture confirmed the discovery of two cases of BSE of “atypical origin.” One diseased animal discovery each occurred in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso. The Ministry of Agriculture collected animal samples and sent them to an OIE laboratory in Canada for more detailed analysis. The animal with BSE in Minas Gerais was more than 10-years old. At the slaughterhouse operating in the region, Federal Inspection Service reported suspicions about the animal. OIE’s “negligible risk” ruling will likely mean there will only be a hiccup for Brazil’s beef exports. Brazilian beef accounts for 40 percent of China’s imports. Brazil ...