S. Korea urged to adopt int'l quarantine standard against mad cow disease

SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has yet to meet internationally accepted beef quarantine standards and should set up regulatory measures to protect against mad cow disease, an expert said Friday.

"South Korea is classified into the category of countries with undetermined BSE
risk, while countries such as the United States and Canada are sorted as
controlled risk countries," said Lee Sung-shik, head of the Korean Society of
Veterinary Services.
"Although mad cow disease never occurred in South Korea, we should not neglect
the standard set by the international community."
Lee was one of the speakers at the "International Symposium on the Maintenance
of BSE-free Korea," held Friday in southern Seoul. BSE, or bovine spongiform
encephalopathy, is more commonly known as mad cow disease, which causes
degeneration of the brain.
Earlier this year, Jean-Luc Angot, deputy director general of the World
Organization for Animal Health, urged South Korea to submit documentation needed
for BSE risk assessment. He argued the country's capabilities to systematically
deal with the disease, rather than reported cases of the disease, is a barometer
for the setting of risk classifications.
Fears of eating tainted U.S. beef contaminated with mad cow disease pushed
thousands of South Koreans onto the streets in daily protests earlier this year,
demanding the government continue its import ban on American meat. South Korea
stopped imports in December 2003, but resumed them in April of this year.