Mad cow: Brazil halt beef exports to China

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) in Brazil announced that it is taking all required measures after confirming a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), popularly known as mad cow disease.

The 9-year-old male animal was raised on pasture, without industrial feed.

According to the Ministry, the ox was put down, and his carcass incinerated on site, a small property in the municipality of Marabá.

According to Mapa, the World Organization for Animal Health (OMAS) was notified, and samples were sent to a reference laboratory in Alberta, Canada, which will be able to confirm whether the case is atypical.

The official Brazilian veterinary service is conducting an epidemiological investigation, which may be continued or terminated depending on the result.

“At each stage of the investigation, all measures are being implemented immediately, and the matter is being handled with complete transparency to ensure the quality of our meat to Brazilians and global consumers alike,” Minister Carlos Fávaro stated.

Suspended beef exports

Following the official health protocol, beef exports to China will be temporarily suspended this Thursday (23).

However, the authorities are working hard to gather all the information necessary to trigger the re-establishment of the Brazilian beef trade.

Total beef exports in January grew 7% in revenue and 17% in volume (adding fresh meat + processed meat), compared to January 2022, reaching US$ 851.2 million and 183,817 tonnes.

Imports from China accounted for 57% of this volume, with revenues of US$ 485.3 million and 100,164 tons purchased.

Please see below Brazil’s exports of beef to China from Jan 2019 to Dec 2022, according to the DataLiner foreign trade data platform.

Beef exports to China | Jan 2019 – Dec 2022 | WTMT

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Mad cow disease

BSE is a disease that affects the brain of cattle, buffaloes, sheep, and goats and can be transmitted through ingesting contaminated meat.

Brazil is not home to a significant risk of the disease, according to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

The country has recorded only a few isolated cases of the disease in recent decades, which have been controlled and eliminated.

The last cases of mad cow in Brazil occurred in 2021, in Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso, and were considered atypical.

Mad cow disease became known worldwide after an outbreak in the United Kingdom during the 1990s, which caused the suspension of beef consumption in the country.

The disease can lead human beings to death, which is why there is strict sanitary control to prevent and control cases of the pathology.

Source: Canal Rural

To read the original news report, please access:  https://www.canalrural.com.br/noticias/vaca-louca-brasil-suspende-exportacoes-de-carne-bovina-a-china/

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