Food Safety and Inspection Service
United States Department of Agriculture
Washington, D.C. 20250-3700
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Food Safety and Inspection Service |
| December 27, 2003 |
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To: |
District Managers and Inspectors-In-Charge |
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From: |
Karen Stuck /s/ Mary Stanley |
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Subject: |
Export Notice 2003-9- BSE Restrictions on U.S. Exports |
USDA has diagnosed a positive case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an adult Holstein cow in the State of Washington. This Notice updates information provided in Export Notice 2003-8, 24 December 2003, and provides guidance on the issuance of in-lieu-of certificates.
Export certificates for any country requiring a statement certifying that all ruminants and ruminant products are free of BSE cannot be signed until further notice.
Exporters are advised to check with the national authorities of countries that have not previously required a BSE-free certification to ascertain any changes in their import requirements prior to shipping ruminants or ruminant products to those countries. Information on new or changed import requirements should be reported to APHIS and FSIS as soon as possible. This information must be verified by FSIS with foreign governments before shipments will be certified.
As of December 27, 2003, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea Taiwan, and Zambia have notified USDA that they are suspending the importation of all U.S. ruminants and ruminant products until further notice. Japan, Korea, and Singapore have notified USDA that all shipments in transit will be refused entry upon arrival. Russia will refuse shipments with an on-board date of December 23, or after. Taiwan will refuse shipments with an on-board date of December 24, 2003, or after. While Egypt has not issued a ban on U.S. ruminants or ruminant products, it has suspended the issuance of import permits for U.S. beef and will permit entry of all shipments with an on-board date prior to December 25, 2003. Canada has implemented a number of interim import restrictions for U.S. ruminants and ruminant products (more information will follow in Export Notice 2003-10). Exporters are advised that other countries may initiate similar restrictions in the near future
FSIS will issue in-lieu-of export certificates for shipments diverted to third countries provided the agency receives official communication from the importing country that it will accept the product contained in such shipments.
OIA is obtaining updated information on a regular basis and will provide further guidance as it becomes available.
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