Canada Reports Another BSE Case

December 21, 2007 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Tuesday confirmed the diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a 13-year-old beef cow from Alberta, noting that the agency has the animal's carcass under its control and no part of it entered the human food or animal feed systems.

The latest discovery marks the 11th case of BSE to befall Canada since its first in a native-born animal in May 2003, which prompted many export markets to ban Canadian beef.

In May of this year, the World Organization for Animal Health designated Canada as a controlled-risk country for BSE, acknowledging the effectiveness of its controls and effectively allowing the export of beef from Canadian cattle of any age.

"This case will not affect Canada's risk status," CFIA said in a news release.

The animal involved in this case was born before Canada banned the use of specified risk materials in feed in 1997.

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