An employee at a market slices domestic beef using a machine before they are wrapped in Kwachon, south of Seoul September 7, 2006. Activists rallied Thursday to oppose the agriculture ministry's plan to resume import of beef from the U.S., which has been banned since December 2003 after a reported case of mad cow disease thereLEE JAE-WON
Mad cow disease was found in a dairy cow in Alberta last month, although no part of the slaughtered cow made it into the human or animal food chain, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday.
The agency internally confirmed the bovine spongiform encephalopathy case on February 18 as part of its National BSE Surveillance Program, according to Alice d'Anjou, a spokesperson for the CFIA.
The cow was discovered after its owner noticed abnormalities, and called a local veterinarian. In Alberta, the province pays vets to investigate any possible BSE cases.
The case appeared to be a confirmed one, and a CFIA lab later confirmed the same, said Gerald Hauer, Alberta's chief veterinarian.
"Our system is working. This sample came through our BSE surveillance program. It is certainly not unexpected to find new cases. it shouldn't affect our controlled risk status. It's really not a major concern," Dr. Hauer said.
With widespread testing going on, it's not unusual to find such cases, he said.
"It is possible to eradicate [BSE]and we're well on our way to doing that, it's just going to take longer. Do we expect to find more cases? Yes, quite frankly," Dr. Hauer said.
Local cattle producers and buyers heard about the test last month, but aren't concerned.
"The number of cattle we test, we're expecting some positive reactions. I think we're probably testing way more than the U.S. is testing," said Bill Jameson, a partner at Saskatchewan's JGL Cattle, one of Canada's largest independent order buyers of cattle. "As long as we don't get a big rash of them, the international community knows we're going to get the odd one."
Canada's beef export industry was decimated when BSE was first detected in Canada in 2003. Some countries continue to ban Canadian cattle and meat, although CFIA does not anticipate further pain because of the new case.
"This case should not affect exports of Canadian cattle or beef," Ms. d'Anjou, the CFIA spokesperson said. The disease spreads when cattle eat feed products that are contaminated with proteins from infected animals. This is the 18th case of BSE in Canada since 2003, and the most recent since February 2010. BSE has appeared in dairy cattle in the past, she said.
Ms. d'Anjou would not give details about the size of the infected cow's herd, or where the cow came from in Alberta. CFIA is conducting a "full investigation," she said.
Provincial officials downplayed the significance Friday, saying it's a "controlled risk" in the province and the discovery wasn't expected to affect beef exports.
More to come.
Carrie Tait