"BSE" news and stories

"Oh no! We're running out of intestines!" That's basically what the Swiss Meat Association is saying. The favorite sausage of Switzerland, the cervelat, is encased in cow's intestines, preferably from Brazilian cows. And though Switzerland is not part of the EU, the country follows those rules when it comes to trade and food regulations. Turns out the EU has curbed imports of Brazilian cows/parts due to BSE (mad cow) fears.

Supplies of the intestines used to make the Swiss delicacy are projected to run out in the summer, just when football (soccer) fans from all over Europe arrive for the Euro 2008 Championship. A "Task Force Cervelat" has been put together with scientists, bureaucrats, and industry insiders in order to try to solve the problem. Everyone agrees it will take some time for the EU regulators to make any changes. The task force is even looking into getting cow intestines from other sources, though no one wants that.

Generally, about 160 million cervelat sausages get eaten in Switzerland each year. Unfortunately, if the Task Force Cervelat doesn't come up with any answers, that number may be reduced this year. What will they eat at football games?

[Via ColdMud.com]

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Japan will soon begin to import beef from the U.S. again, after a nearly three year hiatus, according to the Associated Press. Japanese officials stopped importing U.S. beef in 2003 out of concerns about BSE or mad cow disease. Trade began once since then, but was quickly halted again when a shipment of veal was found to contain spinal chord, which is often suspect in transmitting BSE. The U.S. has already asked that trade not be halted completely should something similar happen again, Reuters reported. Many U.S. beef industry folk welcome the news, as Japan was the largest importer of U.S. beef in 2003, importing $1.4 billion worth.

The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service is seeking to increase the number of substances that could be used on cows that are to be deemed organic. CattleNetwork.com has a list of all eight substances, most of which are used to combat maladies common to feedlot cattle. The list includes bismuth subsalicylate, the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol, which would be used for stomach ulcer relief, as well as poloxalene, used to keep cattle from getting bloated. Both bloating and ulcers are often the result of a corn-heavy diet that grass-eating cows aren't used to. NewsTarget.com also reports on the proposed changes, but with a bit more of a slant than CattleNetwork.

The USDA announced this week that it will reduce the number of cattle tested for mad cow disease by 90 percent, the Associated Press reported. Agricultural Secretary Mike Johanns said Thursday that testing one percent of the 35 million cows slaughtered annually in the U.S. is more than what's necessary. The number of cattle tested on a daily basis will now fall from 1,000 to around 110. Current testing costs are approximately $1 million per week, according to the AP. "There is no significant BSE problem in the United States," Johanns said, "and after all of this surveillance, I am able to say there never was."

What is good for the producer - the ending of export restrictions on UK beef - is not going to be good for the consumer.

UK exports of beef to Europe have been restricted for over ten years after the BSE crisis. With a loss of overseas markets producers were forced to lower prices to sell the excess to the UK consumer. Prices obviously fell. Many farmers sell below cost price, with British premium beef – skinned and cleaned – costing £2 per kilo while the European is £2.40.

With the ending today of the restrictions it is expected that UK premium beef prices could rise to around £2.50 per kilo. The UK will be able to export live cattle born after 1 August 1996, and bovine meat and products produced after 15 June 2005, under the same terms as other member states from today.

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