AMMAN — The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed
that it suspended the
import of live calves and beef, in all its forms, including refrigerated and frozen, from the Netherlands, Spain, and Brazil due to the emergence of cases of
mad cow disease.
اضافة اعلان
The ministry noted that red meat will
be available in preparation for the holy month of Ramadan, and the available
alternatives allow for an increase in the strategic stock of foodstuffs in all
its forms.
Significant risk to Brazil's livestock
sectorThe Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture described the case as "atypical" and said it would work to lift the suspension of beef imports, which several Asian countries had also rushed to enact, Al-Ghad News reported.
Brazil's animal
livestock sector is
one of the largest in the world, and the export ban poses a significant risk to
it.
The country's Ministry of
Agriculture said in a statement that an analysis conducted by the World
Organization for Animal Health confirmed the unusual nature of the infection.
Resuming exports to ChinaThe ministry also said that it would
schedule an online meeting with Chinese officials to discuss the resumption of
beef exports to their country.
The infection was detected in a
nine-year-old bull in the state of Pará in the north of the country, suffering
from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease).
The discovery of the case, which was
announced on February 20, automatically banned Brazilian beef sales to China.
Earlier on Thursday, three other Asian countries — Iran, Jordan, and Thailand —
also temporarily suspended the import of beef from anywhere in Brazil.
The Brazilian Ministry of
Agriculture also confirmed in an earlier statement that Russia had suspended
imports, but only from the state of Pará. The ministry said there was only one
meatpacking plant in Pará authorized to sell beef products to Russia.
Resuming beef exports ‘as soon as
possible’The Brazilian Ministry of
Agriculture said it was seeking to resume beef exports "as soon as
possible".
The infected animal has already been
destroyed. Officials explained that atypical cases of mad cow disease can occur
spontaneously in cattle populations and such infections do not depend on
ingestion of feed contaminated by abnormal pathogens known as prions.
However, the classical pattern of
mad cow disease is more dangerous because it involves contamination with
so-called prion proteins, and can lead to a devastating trade ban on the
sector.
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