S. Korea Expected To Accept USDA Assurances On BSE Cow

21 March 2006

Excerpt...

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--South Korea is certain to accept U.S. assurances that the latest case of mad-cow disease in the U.S. isn't a result of weak cattle-feed safety measures, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said Tuesday.

The USDA, responding to concerns laid out by South Korea, has sent a report with photographs to Seoul, detailing dental exams of an Alabama cow that tested positive for mad-cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, last week.

South Korea was in the final stages of a process to resume beef imports from the U.S. when the USDA reported finding the third U.S. BSE case on an Alabama farm...

...It's very clear the animal was over 10 years old, said the official, who spoke on terms of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of trade talks between the U.S. and South Korea. That would mean the cow was born and possibly infected before the U.S. cattle feed safety rules were implemented in 1997.

If the animal was young enough to have been born after U.S. cattle feed safety rules were in place, that could cast doubt on the effectiveness of a key U.S. safeguard against the spread of BSE.

South Korea banned U.S. beef in December 2003 after the USDA announced finding the first BSE case in the U.S. Before the ban, the U.S. exported $815 million worth of beef to South Korea in 2003, according to USDA data.

A South Korean delegation was scheduled to arrive in the U.S. this week to inspect the safety of beef-packing plants - part of the country's process to resume trade, but that has been delayed in order for South Korea to scrutinize new information on the age of the BSE-infected cow, U.S. government and beef industry officials said.

Source: Bill Tomson; Dow Jones Newswires; 202-646-0088; bill.tomson@dowjones.com