Complain about a product or service

Canada Reports New Mad Cow Case

U.S. lifted restrictions on Canadian beef just weeks ago

December 20, 2007 

• USDA Inspector Allegedly Caughgt Ignoring Animal Abuse • Massive Beef Recall Follows Mad Cow Scare • Lawmakers Call For Slaughterhouse Probe • USDA Closes Plant Suspected Of Slaughtering Downer Cows • Schools Drop Burgers From Menu After Downer Cow Scare • Canada Reports New Mad Cow Case • Meat Packer Clashes With Feds Over Inspections • Industrial "Food" a Growing Menace • USDA Proposes Lifting Mad Cow Ban On Canadian Beef • Scientists Create Mad Cow-Proof Cattle • Virginia Man Has Mad Cow Disease • Feds Fail to Step Up Mad Cow Surveillance • Third Case Of Mad Cow Disease Reported In U.S. • USDA Report Warns Meat Supply at Risk of Mad Cow Disease • Two Drugs Offer Hope Against Mad Cow Disease • Canada Finds Another Case Of Mad Cow Disease • FDA Proposes Stricter Mad Cow Safeguards • U.S. Will Strengthen Mad Cow Safeguards, FDA Chief Says • Consumers Union Wants More Data on Mad Cow Testing • Mad Cow Concerns Trigger Beef Recall In Six States • Meat Industry Ignores Mad Cow Regulations • More ...

The threat of Mad Cow disease has reared its ugly head again in Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed a new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the eleventh since the disease first made its way to Canada.

BSE is a slowly progressive, degenerative, fatal disease affecting the central nervous system of adult cattle. Since 1990, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has conducted surveillance of the highest-risk cattle going to slaughter in the United States.

The agency said the latest Canadian cow, born before new feed regulations had been implemented as a safeguard against BSE, was discovered in Alberta and had not entered the food supply.

The news comes more than a month after the U.S. Government lifted its beef and import restrictions on Canadian cows. The ban had been in place since 2003.

The news is likely to produce new cries of alarm from U.S. cattle producers, who were not pleased with the recent lifting of the ban on Canadian imports. Canadian authorities, meanwhile, say the country has BSE control measures that are not only adequate, but which far exceed those recommended by international standards.

In Washington, USDA says the latest Canadian case does not change the U.S. policy on lifting the import ban. Officials say the risk has already been factored in to Canada’s risk status.

A BSE-infected cow was discovered in the United States in 2003, and another in 2005.

More about mad cow disease ...

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.