- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman on Wednesday said she did not yet know
what safety steps the United States would have to take on mad cow disease
to convince Japan and other major importers of U.S. beef to reopen their
markets.
-
- Interviewed by North Dakota radio station WDAY, Veneman
said, "I'm just not sure what it's going to take" to reopen those
markets.
-
- U.S. beef exports were virtually shut down after the
Dec. 23 finding of one case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a dairy
cow slaughtered in Washington state. The United States normally exports
more than $3 billion worth of beef annually, about 10 percent of its production.
-
- Veneman said "it's premature to project right now"
when foreign countries' trade bans might be relaxed. But she noted that
after Canada identified one case of the animal brain-wasting disease last
spring, "It was about three months before we opened up any market
to Canada...and that was very limited."
-
- USDA officials are in Japan this week talking to counterparts
about beef trade. Veneman said foreign countries should "at least
open up to the least-risk product, boneless beef."
-
- Veneman also said the Food and Drug Administration would
make an announcement "very shortly" on possible new restrictions
on the use of bovine material in animal feed.
-
- "They (FDA) are in the process of reviewing all
of those regulations now in light of the find of BSE in this country and
they are expected to make some announcements with regard to further restrictions
on feed very shortly," Veneman said.
-
- U.S. meat industry sources have speculated the FDA might
ban the use of bovine blood as a protein supplement for calves. Some consumer
groups are calling for a much broader ban, one that would outlaw the use
of any ruminant parts for all livestock feed, a move U.S. industry officials
oppose.
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