The first case of mad cow disease in Canada since 2011 was confirmed in a beef cow in Alberta, according to the Canadian Press. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said he did not expect the discovery to affect beef exports. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, none of the sick animal’s carcass entered the food chain. The age and history of the cow were not immediately known. Canada is listed as a “controlled BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) risk” country by the World Organization for Animal Health. The United States and Australia, which compete with Canada as beef exporters, are “negligible BSE risk” countries.
South Korea blocked import of Canadian beef because of the new mad-cow case as a precaution, said Yonhap news agency.