Taiwan to step up checks on US beef after mad cow case

April 29, 2012 in Other

Taiwan plans to step up checks of US plants that process beef exported to the island, the government said Sunday, following the discovery of a new mad cow disease case in the United States.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week reported the country's fourth-ever case of (BSE), but stressed the was contained and no contaminated meat had entered the food chain.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack wrote a letter to his Taiwanese counterpart on Friday outlining the measures being adopted by the US authorities and pledged to keep Taiwan informed about the investigation of the case.

Taiwan said Sunday that officials planned to visit the US soon due to "concerns" following the new case.

"In order to clarify concerns and ensure safety of , officials from the Council of Agriculture and the Department of Health will visit the United States as soon as possible," the council said in a statement.

Taiwan, like many other governments, banned US beef imports in December 2003 after was detected in an American herd but relaxed the rules in 2006 to allow imports of boneless beef.

Taiwan moved in October 2009 to allow US beef on the bone, cow organs and minced beef, but the decision was overturned after a public outcry.

(c) 2012 AFP

5 /5 (1 vote)  

Rank 5 /5 (1 vote)
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Early use of tracheostomy for mechanically ventilated patients not associated with improved survival

For critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilation, early tracheostomy (within the first 4 days after admission) was not associated with an improvement in the risk of death within 30 days compared to patients who ...

Other created 19 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Decisions to forgo life support may depend heavily on the ICU where patients are treated

The decision to limit life support in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) appears to be significantly influenced by physician practices and/or the culture of the hospital, suggests new findings from researchers at the ...

Other created 21 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

People on higher incomes are happier with new knees

Knee replacement surgery is a very common procedure. However, it does not always resolve function or pain in all the recipients of new knees. A study by Robert Barrack, MD and his colleagues from the Washington University ...

Other created 23 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New search engine finds rare diagnoses

Doctors are trained to think "common disease" when they meet patients in their practices, and as they rarely or never meet a rare disease, it often takes many years to reach the right diagnosis. A new search tool called FindZebra ...

Other created 23 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Delayed transfer to the ICU increases risk of death in hospital patients

Delayed transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) in hospitalized patients significantly increases the risk of dying in the hospital, according to a new study from researchers in Chicago.

Other created May 21, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Study finds new pneumococcal vaccine appears to be as safe as previously used vaccine

The new 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) appears to be as safe as the previous version used prior to 2010, the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), according to a Kaiser Permanente study published ...

Addiction to unhealthy foods could help explain the global obesity epidemic

Research presented today shows that high-fructose corn syrup can cause behavioural reactions in rats similar to those produced by drugs of abuse such as cocaine. These results, presented by addiction expert Francesco Leri, ...

Study says empathy plays a key role in moral judgments

Is it permissible to harm one to save many? Those who tend to say "yes" when faced with this classic dilemma are likely to be deficient in a specific kind of empathy, according to a report published in the scientific journal ...

A molecular explanation for age-related fertility decline in women

(Medical Xpress)—Scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health have a new theory as to why a woman's fertility declines after her mid-30s. They also suggest an approach that might help slow ...

If you can remember it, you can remember it wrong

(Medical Xpress)—Native peoples in regions where cameras are uncommon sometimes react with caution when their picture is taken. The fear that something must have been stolen from them to create the photo ...

Phthalates: Study links chemicals widely found in plastics, processed food to elevated blood pressure in children, teens

Plastic additives known as phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates) are odorless, colorless and just about everywhere: They turn up in flooring, plastic cups, beach balls, plastic wrap, intravenous tubing and—according to the ...