WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd March, 2023) US Senator Steve Daines is urging President Joe Biden to suspend the import of Brazilian beef to the United States amid concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, also known as mad cow disease), the lawmaker said in a letter.
"I believe recent concerns with Brazil's food safety practices justify the immediate suspension of Brazil's fresh beef imports until the US Department of Agriculture can ensure livestock producers that Brazilian beef does not pose a risk to spread BSE or other potentially dangerous livestock diseases," Daines said on Thursday.
Brazil has a longstanding record of delaying reports of atypical BSE cases to the World Animal Organization for Animal Health, including a recent report submitted 35 days after a case was identified, the letter said.
The pattern calls into question Brazil's animal health and food safety systems, threatening the health and safety of US cattle, the letter said.
The US suspended fresh beef imports from Brazil in 2017, but lifted the suspension in 2020.
Moreover, the US finds itself "behind China" insofar as Brazilian beef exports to China have already been suspended, the letter said. If Brazilian beef is not suitable for China, it should not be on the US market either, the letter said.
The US food supply and cattle stock must be protected from contamination until Brazil's government enacts reforms to address concerns, the letter said.
The letter was also sent to US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
BSE is an incurable disease believed to be caused by a misfolded protein called a prion. The disease can spread to humans through consumption of contaminated food, leading to the fatal variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
