Wagyu beef on skewers at a Tokyo market. (Michal_Staniewski/iStock/Getty Images)

Japan now accepting Canadian OTM beef

The last of Japan’s BSE-related restrictions on Canadian beef are lifted as of last Friday, with the Japanese government’s agreement to allow beef from Canadian cattle over 30 months of age (OTMs). Citing industry estimates, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said the added access announced Tuesday could mean an increase of up to 20 per cent […] Read more


Beef on display in a market in Japan. (File photo)

Japan opens doors to full access of U.S. beef imports

Washington | Reuters — Japan has agreed to eliminate its long-held restrictions on U.S. beef imports, opening full access to U.S. cattle products after more than 15 years, the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement on Friday. “The new terms, which take effect immediately, allow U.S. products from all cattle, […] Read more

Beef on display in a market in Japan. (File photo)

Japan considers scrapping age limit on U.S. beef imports

Tokyo | Reuters — Japan is considering scrapping import restrictions on U.S. beef purchases that were put in place after the first case of BSE in the U.S. in 2003, local media reported on Thursday. Both the Nikkei business daily and Mainichi newspaper said officials are discussing removing the curbs that currently only allow beef […] Read more

A Western blot analysis, used to detect specific proteins in tissue samples, is used to confirm BSE in cattle. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Scotland identifies ‘classical’ BSE case

London | Reuters — Scotland’s government said on Thursday that a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) had been discovered on a farm in Aberdeenshire, the first in Britain since 2015. A quarantine area has been put in place around the farm while inspectors try to identify the origin of the disease. “I have activated […] Read more


Cattle on pasture in the Philippines. (LeoLee/iStock/Getty Images)

Canadian cattle’s access to Philippines restored

The regulatory path has been cleared to resume exports of live Canadian cattle to the Philippines, reopening a market worth an estimated $8 million per year. The federal government on Monday announced the resumed export clearance, along with new market access for Canadian sheep and goat genetics exports to both Indonesia and the Philippines. The […] Read more

Cattle graze at a military base in Florida. (Wirepec/iStock/Getty Images)

Florida finds atypical BSE case

Chicago | Reuters — A six-year-old beef cow in Florida tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday. The animal tested positive for atypical H-type BSE on Aug. 26 at the Colorado State University’s veterinary diagnostic laboratory, as part of routine surveillance of cattle that are found to […] Read more

A Western blot analysis, used to confirm BSE in bovine brain tissue. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Alabama finds atypical BSE case

Reuters — An 11-year-old cow in Alabama tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday. The cow tested positive for the atypical L-type of BSE after exhibiting clinical signs at an Alabama livestock market, USDA said in a press release. Atypical BSE can arise spontaneously in cattle herds, […] Read more


Taste-testing during a Canadian Beef Advantage Seminar in Shanghai in 2013. (Canada Beef via YouTube)

U.S. finalizes talks to resume beef exports to China

Chicago | Reuters — Final details are in place to allow U.S. exporters to resume beef shipments to China, U.S. officials said on Monday, allowing companies to prepare for their first shipments in 14 years. After concluding talks with Beijing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said U.S. producers must track the birthplace of cattle born […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

More BSE tests, no BSE seen in 2016

Canadian beef cattle producers handed over more samples in 2016 than in 2015 to be tested for BSE, turning up zero cases of the brain-wasting disease. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association on Monday reported 27,346 samples were submitted to the national BSE surveillance program in 2016 — up four per cent from 26,285 in 2015, but […] Read more