Ban on import of Canadian beef by China, South Korea and Philippines expected to be short lived

Jan 12, 2022 | 4:51 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB. –– It was an announcement that may have left some beef producers nervous but, those “in-the-know“ are expecting the ban on the export of Canadian cattle to several countries, to be limited in duration.

It was announced on December 17, 2021, that a case of atypical BSE was confirmed on an eastern Alberta farm. Within days, China put a ban on the important of Canadian beef, with South Korea and the Philippines following-up with a similar ban shortly after that.

Producers immediately recalled the 2003 case of classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) that was also found on an Alberta farm. Within weeks, the case wreaked havoc with Canada`s cattle industry, causing upwards of $5.5 billion in damage over the course of three years. It lead to many countries banning Canadian beef and took many more years for the industry to recover.

China is the Canadian beef industry`s third largest export mark and is worth about $170 million annually. What is so harsh, is the fact that China moved so quickly to ban the Canadian product – in a move that doesn`t jibe with international scientific documentation.

While atypical BSE can present sporadically and spontaneously in cattle herds, at a rate of about one in one million cattle, it is not an indication of the health of the herd.

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Conversely, classical BSE, also known as mad cow disease, occurs in younger cattle and has been linked to contaminated meat and bone meal being used in cattle feed. The practice of using MBM in feed was banned in Canada in 2007, as it`s linked to the human Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Unlike the classic BSE strain, atypical BSE poses no health risk to humans and is not transmissible.

The last atypical case of BSE in Canada was found in 2007. It has been found in other countries since then – including the U.S. where it`s been reported six times – most recently in 2018.

In May 2021, the World Organization of Animal Health recognized Canada as a negligible risk for BSE. To achieve negligible risk, a country must demonstrate the last case of classical BSE was born more than 11 years ago and effective control measures and surveillance systems are in place. That has been done Canada.

The detection of an atypical BSE case, should not impact Canada’s negligible risk status, and market access for Canadian animals and beef products.

Dennis Laycraft, the executive director for the Canadian Cattlemen`s Association, anticipates the border closures to Canadian beef with be short-lived. Ideally, he would like to see the situation resolved within a few days or weeks.

by Dori Modney