A report issued by the delegations said precautionary measures against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) met US and World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) standards. The delegation also found US precautionary measures satisfied Taiwan’s regulations on food safety and its Protocol of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)-Related Measures for Importation of Beef and Beef Products for Human Consumption, according to “Focus Taiwan.”
Taiwan sent the delegation after a dairy cow tested positive for atypical BSE. The inspectors stayed in the US for 23 days in May examining slaughter facilities, farms, feed manufacturers and laboratories in seven states.
A full endorsement of the safety of US beef was not made in the report because the US has not yet provided an epidemic report on the California BSE case and because of an operational “oversight” the delegation found at a Kansas slaughter facility related to the removal of cattle tonsils.
