What the science says is that nvCJD occurred in Britain at only ¼ the rate of CJD. CJD has been known to infect about 1 in 1 million people annually world wide for many years, possibly as a result of genetics.
Britian has a disaster. Hundred of thousands of British cows were infected with BSE and for many years these cows were processed and became part of the food supply without any safety measures such as removal of SRMs. Even so, the expected epidemic of nvCJD never happened. There is a woman in the U.S. right now dying of nvCJD. This woman has had nvCJD for several years with no impact on North American beef markets. CJD is a very rare disease, nvCJD is 4 times as rare in Britain and almost unknown elsewhere in the world.
We do not have hundreds of thousands of cows in Canada or North America infected with BSE. We have one proven case of BSE in Canada as well the United States has had one positive BSE test. Where the Washington Holstein got BSE has yet to be determined. And unlike Britain we took measures immediately to protect the safety of our nations food supply.
The surveillance testing that is being done is focused towards those animals that are most likely to be infected with BSE, that is downers, etc. As well cows from the general cow population are being tested. Surveillance testing is to be increased, however surveillance testing is not to be confused with food safety.
The safety of the beef our consumers eat is assured by removal of the SRMs. Even if a BSE positive cow were slaughtered as happened in Washington, the meat is considered safe because the parts of the animal thought to be potentially infectious are removed. In Canada our system has always kept BSE positives out of the food chain and a BSE positive cow will never enter the food chain in this country. The U.S. is changing their protocols so a BSE positive cow never enters their food chain again.
I think the real focus of our concerns should be the development of a rational and unified approach to BSE by all NAFTA trading partners. The United States’ two faced, Jekyll and Hyde response to BSE in North American is the real problem. On the one hand consumers see the United States telling their consumers that U.S. beef is safe after meat from a known BSE positive cow entered the food supply of eight states while on the other hand the U.S. is banning Canadian product and live cattle from the U.S. This sends a very wrong message to consumers throughout North America. This kind of blatant politically motivated protectionism may have be intended to provide a competitive advantage for U.S. beef producers but in the end it will only serve to hurt all beef producers as consumer confidence is eroded. It needs to stop right now.
I believe our food supply is fine, what is not quite right is U.S. politics.
Britian has a disaster. Hundred of thousands of British cows were infected with BSE and for many years these cows were processed and became part of the food supply without any safety measures such as removal of SRMs. Even so, the expected epidemic of nvCJD never happened. There is a woman in the U.S. right now dying of nvCJD. This woman has had nvCJD for several years with no impact on North American beef markets. CJD is a very rare disease, nvCJD is 4 times as rare in Britain and almost unknown elsewhere in the world.
We do not have hundreds of thousands of cows in Canada or North America infected with BSE. We have one proven case of BSE in Canada as well the United States has had one positive BSE test. Where the Washington Holstein got BSE has yet to be determined. And unlike Britain we took measures immediately to protect the safety of our nations food supply.
The surveillance testing that is being done is focused towards those animals that are most likely to be infected with BSE, that is downers, etc. As well cows from the general cow population are being tested. Surveillance testing is to be increased, however surveillance testing is not to be confused with food safety.
The safety of the beef our consumers eat is assured by removal of the SRMs. Even if a BSE positive cow were slaughtered as happened in Washington, the meat is considered safe because the parts of the animal thought to be potentially infectious are removed. In Canada our system has always kept BSE positives out of the food chain and a BSE positive cow will never enter the food chain in this country. The U.S. is changing their protocols so a BSE positive cow never enters their food chain again.
I think the real focus of our concerns should be the development of a rational and unified approach to BSE by all NAFTA trading partners. The United States’ two faced, Jekyll and Hyde response to BSE in North American is the real problem. On the one hand consumers see the United States telling their consumers that U.S. beef is safe after meat from a known BSE positive cow entered the food supply of eight states while on the other hand the U.S. is banning Canadian product and live cattle from the U.S. This sends a very wrong message to consumers throughout North America. This kind of blatant politically motivated protectionism may have be intended to provide a competitive advantage for U.S. beef producers but in the end it will only serve to hurt all beef producers as consumer confidence is eroded. It needs to stop right now.
I believe our food supply is fine, what is not quite right is U.S. politics.
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