South Korea and Saudi Arabia join countries banning Brazilian beef
19/12/2012
Earlier this week, China, South Africa and Japan announced they were halting beef imports from the country, and Egypt banned meat from Parana, the state the cow was discovered in.
The cow, which was kept for breeding purposes, did not develop full-blown BSE and died of other causes in 2010. Delayed testing revealed it was positive for the causal agent for BSE, a protein called a prion, which can arise spontaneously in elderly cattle.
Brazil has downplayed the findings, saying it is similar to the case found in the US in April and which had no major effect of US beef exports, and has reportedly sent representatives to Asia to provide more information.
The Brazilian ministry of agriculture, José Carlos Vaz, said the government had expected some countries to react this way, but said he was sure shipments to those markets would begin again within months.
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