According to a statement from the Department of Agriculture, it has disposed of animals which posed a threat and it is now confident that any threat has been removed. The cow was a Rotbunt.
“The Department identified all animals potentially exposed to the BSE agent that caused this incident – those born and reared on the birth-farm one year either side of the birth date of the positive animal, and her progeny. These have been slaughtered, excluded from the food and feed chains, and tested”.
The epidemiological investigation has confirmed that:
All 63 cohort animals and four progeny slaughtered and disposed of have tested negative for BSEThe confirmed case is an isolated case in a single animalBoth the dam and grand dam of the infected animal tested negative for BSE at slaughter, and therefore vertical transmission is not considered to be a factor in this caseWhilst the grand-dam of the positive animal was imported, this is not of any significance in epidemiological termsNo concerns arise regarding the integrity of the commercial feed supply chain or the effectiveness of the feed control systems. In the 2009 and 2010 period, more than 3,800 feed inspections took place, and almost 2,500 feed samples, including 52 from suppliers to the farm on which the positive case was found, were tested for the presence of processed animal proteins. All tested negative for meat and bone meal. Test results from feed currently on the farm are also negative.
Reacting to the results confirming an isolated case of BSE, IFA president Eddie Downey said our export and home markets had responded to the news of this case in a calm and balanced manner, as he expected.
Eddie Downey said: "Consumers can be re-assured about the robustness of the food safety controls in place in Ireland. This and the high quality of Irish food has rightly reassured export markets from all over the world."
ICSA president Paddy Kent has warned that the BSE confirmation must not be used as an excuse to drive down price.
“Farmers have seen a welcome tightening of prices in recent days, and meat processors cannot use this result, an isolated one-off case, as a stick to hammer farmers with,” he said.
Read more
BSE confirmation expected today
Impact of a confirmed BSE case on risk status
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According to a statement from the Department of Agriculture, it has disposed of animals which posed a threat and it is now confident that any threat has been removed. The cow was a Rotbunt.
“The Department identified all animals potentially exposed to the BSE agent that caused this incident – those born and reared on the birth-farm one year either side of the birth date of the positive animal, and her progeny. These have been slaughtered, excluded from the food and feed chains, and tested”.
The epidemiological investigation has confirmed that:
All 63 cohort animals and four progeny slaughtered and disposed of have tested negative for BSEThe confirmed case is an isolated case in a single animalBoth the dam and grand dam of the infected animal tested negative for BSE at slaughter, and therefore vertical transmission is not considered to be a factor in this caseWhilst the grand-dam of the positive animal was imported, this is not of any significance in epidemiological termsNo concerns arise regarding the integrity of the commercial feed supply chain or the effectiveness of the feed control systems. In the 2009 and 2010 period, more than 3,800 feed inspections took place, and almost 2,500 feed samples, including 52 from suppliers to the farm on which the positive case was found, were tested for the presence of processed animal proteins. All tested negative for meat and bone meal. Test results from feed currently on the farm are also negative.
Reacting to the results confirming an isolated case of BSE, IFA president Eddie Downey said our export and home markets had responded to the news of this case in a calm and balanced manner, as he expected.
Eddie Downey said: "Consumers can be re-assured about the robustness of the food safety controls in place in Ireland. This and the high quality of Irish food has rightly reassured export markets from all over the world."
ICSA president Paddy Kent has warned that the BSE confirmation must not be used as an excuse to drive down price.
“Farmers have seen a welcome tightening of prices in recent days, and meat processors cannot use this result, an isolated one-off case, as a stick to hammer farmers with,” he said.
Read more
BSE confirmation expected today
Impact of a confirmed BSE case on risk status
Analysis: Suspected BSE case will not impact Irish trade
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