TOKYO, 25 December 2003 — At least 10 nations including the top two foreign markets for US beef slapped bans on imports from the United States yesterday after the country detected its first suspected case of mad cow disease.
Japan, the world’s biggest importer of US beef, announced a temporary ban less than three hours after US Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said initial tests had shown that a cow from northwestern US state of Washington may have the deadly brain-wasting disease. Fears over mad cow disease also pushed down US stocks, with shares in fast food giant McDonald’s plunging nearly eight percent in opening trade.
The import ban by Japan, which accounts for a third of US beef exports, was followed by a similar move by Mexico, the world’s number two US beef importer.
South Korea, the fourth biggest market for US beef, also followed Japan’s lead, as did Australia, Brazil, Chile, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
Russia closed its borders to American beef although only four percent of its imported beef products come from the United States. China said it was hoping to make an announcement later.
Asia’s reaction put paid to US farmers’ hopes that the export component of their $40 billion industry would be spared serious fallout despite assurances that humans would not be affected by the latest case.
“We remain confident in the safety of our food supply. The risk to human health is extremely low,” Veneman said when announcing the findings of the test on the Holstein cow. “I plan to serve beef for my Christmas dinner.”
The most important export markets are Japan, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, and Hong Kong, in that order. Exports of beef and variety meats such as tongues and tails was worth $3.4 billion in 2002, according to the US Meat Export Federation.
But with a sample from the suspect animal already sent to Britain for final confirmation of the disease, other US beef importers have decided to wait before taking any decision on suspending imports.
Canada said it would only impose a ban if the tissue samples from the cow sent to Britain tested positive for the disease.
“It is premature,” Canadian Food Inspection Agency veterinarian Brian Evans said. “There will be measures if the case is positive.”
In Brussels, the European Union said that it had no plans to impose extra restrictions on imports of US beef to add to protective measures that were already in place.
EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner David Byrne said “the EU already has in place a number of protective measures to ensure that bovine material at a risk of carrying BSE is not imported to the EU”.
