Mad cow disease in US
Source: Agencies |
April 26, 2012, Thursday
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Two major South Korean retailers pulled US beef from their stores yesterday following the discovery of mad cow disease in a US dairy cow. Reaction elsewhere in Asia was muted with Japan saying there was no reason to restrict imports.
South Korea's No. 2 and No. 3 supermarket chains, Home Plus and Lotte Mart, said they halted sales of beef from the United States to calm worries among South Koreans.
But within hours, Home Plus resumed sales and cited a government announcement of increased inspections. Lotte kept its suspension in place.
"We stopped sales from today," said Chung Won-hun, a Lotte Mart spokesman. "Not that there were any quality issues in the meat but because consumers were worried."
South Korea is the world's fourth-largest importer of US beef, buying 107,000 tons worth US$563 million in 2011.
The new case of mad cow disease is the first in the US since 2006. It was discovered in a dairy cow in California, but US health authorities said the animal was never a threat to the nation's food supply.
Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is fatal to cows and can cause a deadly human brain disease in people. US authorities said the cow was an atypical case of BSE, meaning a random mutation in the animal rather than infected feed was the cause.
The cow was found as part of an Agriculture Department program that tests about 40,000 cows a year for the disease.
The news spread quickly in South Korea, which banned US beef in 2003 along with China and other countries because of mad cow disease concerns. Seoul's resumption of imports in 2008 sparked months of protests.
South Korea imports US beef from cows less than 30 months old and there is no direct link between US beef imported into South Korea and the infected animal, the country's agriculture ministry said in a statement. The infected US cow was older than 30 months.
But the ministry decided to step up inspections of US beef and request detailed information on the case from the US - initial measures to appease public concern while avoiding possible trade conflicts.
"We are still reviewing whether we will stop quarantine inspections," Chang Jae-hong, deputy director of the ministry's quarantine policy division, said.
Halting quarantine inspections would prevent US beef from being delivered to stores as it couldn't clear customs.
South Korea's No. 2 and No. 3 supermarket chains, Home Plus and Lotte Mart, said they halted sales of beef from the United States to calm worries among South Koreans.
But within hours, Home Plus resumed sales and cited a government announcement of increased inspections. Lotte kept its suspension in place.
"We stopped sales from today," said Chung Won-hun, a Lotte Mart spokesman. "Not that there were any quality issues in the meat but because consumers were worried."
South Korea is the world's fourth-largest importer of US beef, buying 107,000 tons worth US$563 million in 2011.
The new case of mad cow disease is the first in the US since 2006. It was discovered in a dairy cow in California, but US health authorities said the animal was never a threat to the nation's food supply.
Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is fatal to cows and can cause a deadly human brain disease in people. US authorities said the cow was an atypical case of BSE, meaning a random mutation in the animal rather than infected feed was the cause.
The cow was found as part of an Agriculture Department program that tests about 40,000 cows a year for the disease.
The news spread quickly in South Korea, which banned US beef in 2003 along with China and other countries because of mad cow disease concerns. Seoul's resumption of imports in 2008 sparked months of protests.
South Korea imports US beef from cows less than 30 months old and there is no direct link between US beef imported into South Korea and the infected animal, the country's agriculture ministry said in a statement. The infected US cow was older than 30 months.
But the ministry decided to step up inspections of US beef and request detailed information on the case from the US - initial measures to appease public concern while avoiding possible trade conflicts.
"We are still reviewing whether we will stop quarantine inspections," Chang Jae-hong, deputy director of the ministry's quarantine policy division, said.
Halting quarantine inspections would prevent US beef from being delivered to stores as it couldn't clear customs.
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