BSE case should not limit Irish beef trade, says expert

The international community should “in no way” seek to restrict the trade in, or consumption of, Irish beef because of a suspected BSE case in the Republic, said the international agency that ranks nations’ animal disease risk.

Dr Brian Evans, deputy director general of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), said if the suspected BSE found in an 11-year-old animal on a farm in Co Louth was confirmed, Ireland's risk categorisation would reduce.

But this did not prevent Ireland from trading its beef products internationally.

Test results will be out early this week, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Dr Evans said safeguards to protect animal and human health were in place in Ireland and working well.

“[The OIE would] reassure countries that, should Ireland’s status move from negligible to controlled risk, this in no way should be taken as an opportunity to restrict the consumption of Irish meat or meat products.”

Debate

Dr Evans described as “an area of active debate” possible changes to the categorisation system that would mean countries in the negligible risk category would not lose that status in one-off or very infrequent BSE cases.

Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has insisted there was no risk to human health. He said Ireland had "controlled risk" status when it got the ban lifted on beef exports to the US, China and Japan so if Ireland reverted to that status it should not affect trade.

The OIE, made up of 180 nations, has a three-tier categorisation for BSE in beef products; undetermined risk, controlled risk and negligible risk.

Surveillance

Countries are awarded a status based on the robustness of surveillance for BSE, quality control for cattle feed and how often BSE cases were found in older animals.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s CountryWide, Dr Evans said BSE surveillance and monitoring of cattle feed were exemplary in Ireland.

If the latest case is confirmed as BSE, Ireland’s status will change almost immediately.

Investigations into the suspected BSE case in Louth are considering the possibility that the five-year-old cow may have contracted the disease from feed eaten years earlier.

BSE cases fell dramatically after meat-and-bonemeal feed was banned and other measures were introduced.

There were no cases of BSE reported last year, for the first time since 1989.

Most animals that died from BSE in recent years were old and had eaten feed containing meat and bonemeal years earlier, so a case involving a five-year-old cow is unusual.