Canada has reported its first case of mad cow disease in a decade, sending shockwaves throughout the North American food industry and causing bans to be placed on exports of Canadian beef to several countries, including the US.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
On Friday a cow in Canada’s main cattle-producing province, Alberta, tested positive for the brain-wasting disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy, which is also known as mad cow disease. The test was taken on 31 January after the cow was slaughtered.
“The actual test was taken 31 January from a cow in Fairview, Alberta,” an official with the Canadian Beef Export Federation was quoted by Reuters as saying. “It’s just one isolated case of an 8-year-old cow.”
The animal was not processed and its herd of 150 animals will be slaughtered, according to Canadian Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief.
“The investigation to date indicates the animal in question was sent to a rendering plant after slaughter. I want to stress that the animal did not go into the food chain,” he said.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe US responded quickly to the news by imposing a ban on imports of Canadian cattle, sheep and goats, as well as meat and meat products. Japan and South Korea, the third and fourth largest importers of Canadian beef, imposed similar bans, with South Korea also banning imports of Canadian dairy products.
Canada has only ever had one other case of mad cow disease. An animal imported from Britain tested positive for the disease in 1993.
Alberta is a major beef-producing province, with a cattle population of around 5.5 million, outnumbering the human population by almost 2.5 million. Alberta accounts for almost 60% of Canadian beef production.
The value of shares in US beef processor Tyson Foods fell on the news, as did shares in US fastfood chain McDonald’s.
“Restaurant stocks most at risk include McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Jack in the Box, and Outback Steakhouse. These companies own concepts heavily dependent on beef,” Mark Kalinowski, a Smith Barney Citigroup analyst, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
McDonald’s said in a statement that is does not import any raw beef or hamburger patties from Canada for use in the US.
Tyson Foods, which runs a meat packing plant in Brooks, Alberta, said the Lakeside plant was not involved in the case but added that production would be affected by the temporary ban on exports of Canadian beef to the US.
“While the ban is in effect, we plan to reduce production at Lakeside to a level equal to our Canadian customers,” it added in a release. “The temporary loss in sales to the United States is not expected to have a material impact on the company’s earnings.”
In Britain and Japan consumer demand for beef was hit hard following outbreaks of mad cow disease.
In the US, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman sought to alleviate consumer fears about the disease, saying the risk to human health was very low.
“At this time, we see no reason for any consumer to be concerned about the safety of the food supply,” she told CNN. “In fact, I intend to eat a steak tonight.”
Mad cow disease is a degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system of cattle. A rare human form called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is believed to be caused by eating cattle products contaminated with BSE. The incurable disease has killed more than 100 people in Britain and Europe.
