Saudi Arabia suspends 5 slaughterhouses in Brazil after cases of mad cow

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has suspended beef imports from five Brazilian slaughterhouses, which registered two atypical cases of “mad cows” earlier this month, the Ministry of Agriculture reported on Tuesday. According to the folder, the five plants are in Minas Gerais, State in which one of the mad cow cases was identified. The second occurrence of the disease was registered in Mato Grosso. The information was initially published by the newspaper Valor Econômico, indicating that Brazil was notified by the Arab country on September 9, three days after the suspension. “The reason (for the suspension) is related to the occurrence of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), known as 'mad cow disease', despite the fact that the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) concluded, last September 6th, that there is no risk of contamination of the herd as it is atypical,” the ministry said in a note sent to Reuters. "Meetings are being held, but there is still no forecast for ...