Timely BSE Report in Brazil? U.S. Beef Imports Left Unphased
Brazil BSE 022423
A case of Atypical BSE, or mad cow disease, was confirmed in the northern state of Para, Brazil on Wednesday. However, the real question is—when did this case actually occur?
In a recent AgriTalk conversation, Ethan Lane, the National Cattleman’s Beef Association vice president of government affairs explains how Brazil has never been the timeliest country when it comes to reporting.
“We understand that this is an Atypical case. They've sent it to the World Organization for Animal Health for confirmation. What we don't know yet is the timeline,” Lane says. “That has been the real problem with Brazil and these Atypical BSE cases. You know, the rest of the world reports these within 24 hours. Atypical cases are not the same as classical, they don't present a threat to the herd and they're spontaneously occurring, but reporting them in a timely way is how we make sure the system is working properly. For the last 10 years, Brazil has never reported one of these in a timely manner.”
Lane explains, Brazil’s reporting of these cases has been months or even years late.
Justin Tupper, president of United States Cattlemen’s Association, adds, “The atypical BSE case follows the finding of the disease in several animal remains in 2021, which the country had obviously failed to report in a timely manner.”
While China halted Brazilian beef exports starting on Thursday, as part of an animal health pact previously agreed between China and Brazil, the U.S. is still eligible to receive exports from the country.
Under the current trade structure, Brazil is part of an 18-country trade group, contributing to a 65,000 metric ton quota of beef to be imported to the U.S.
“Brazil has gotten really good in the last couple of years of maxing out that quota and basically taking market share away from others like the Japanese and the British. That's a real source of contention amongst other trading partners,” Lane adds.
Additionally, Brazil’s beef exports to the U.S. must be shipped from Santa Catarina, a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) free state. However, Lane explains there’s still a lot of risk.
“They stopped vaccinating for FMD. They’ve done it state by state. They’ve declared themselves FMD-free. However, that’s not how that process works. I mean, there are governing bodies that determine that internationally, so it’s a fairly concerning state of affairs when they self-declare and stop vaccinating,” Lane says.
Continuing to press the issue with Secretary Vilsack and USDA, Lane explains the uncertainty and concern over Brazil’s reporting ability continues to make us believe there needs to be a suspension of beef imports from Brazil into the U.S. until they can prove they have that central competent authority and ability to play by the same rules as the rest of world. “It’s something we can’t afford to let slip,” Lane says.
Tupper adds, “We acknowledge that Atypical BSE arises spontaneously in certain cattle, especially amongst individual animals that are 8 years of age or older. However, USCA supports the full and immediate suspension of Brazilian beef imports, not just because of this incident, but because there are enough other reasons to do so."
Whether it’s BSE or FMD, Lane believes it’s important that trading countries play by the same stringent rules that we abide by here in the U.S.
Read More:
