US Confirms 3rd Mad Cow Outbreak

With the confirmation of another outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, U.S. beef imports that were set to resume later this month may be delayed.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that a cow raised in the state of Alabama has tested positive for BSE,” a ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) spokesperson said yesterday.

Officials are investigating the exact age and birthplace of this cow, which is assumed to be over 10 years old. In this case, the age makes a difference because it will determine whether imports will resume or not.

Based on bilateral agreements set in January, Korea will resume imports of American beef if the cow was born before April 1998. However, if results turn out otherwise, which implies that BSE is being found in cows aged less than eight years, then Korea will consider banning U.S beef again.

This is the third case of BSE reported in the United States. BSE was first detected in 2003 in Washington, and again in Texas last year.

Sun-Woo Kim Seung-Ryun Kim sublime@donga.com srkim@donga.com