A new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), more commonly known as mad cow disease, has been discovered in Canada.
An unnamed official at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was quoted by Reuters as saying, 'As far as I know, the animal is over 30 months old.'
The Canadian government increased testing and took more preventative measures against mad cow disease 32 months ago, shortly after the first case in Canada was discovered.
It was later confirmed that the diseased cow in question is more than six years old and came from a farm in Alberta. The cow had not entered the human food system or the animal food system when the disease was discovered.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns released a statement saying, 'I anticipate no change in the status of beef or live cattle imports to the U.S. from Canada under our established agreement. I am confident in the safety of beef and in the safeguards we and our approved beef trading partners have in place to protect our food supply.'
Canadian officials were concerned about the effect the new case of BSE may have on Canadian beef exports. 'It's certainly unwelcome at this stage,' Stan Eby, the president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association said. 'Hopefully, by the end of the day we'll know what these countries are going to do.'
