Washington promises transparency for Korea on mad cow disease

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. government insisted Wednesday that American beef is safe to eat despite reports of the first case of mad cow disease here in six years.

It pledged to fully update South Korea on related developments.

“Our investigation is ongoing, but here are a few things that we do know for a fact: It is perfectly safe to eat beef and drink milk without concern for BSE,” Matt Herrick, an official at the Department of Agriculture, said in an inquiry by Yonhap News Agency.

The department announced the previous day that a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy was reported in a California dairy.

Some of South Korea’s retailers temporarily suspended the sale of U.S. beef, citing consumers’ concerns.

Seoul, however, did not take any action to restrict the imports of U.S. beef. South Korea is the world’s fourth-largest importer of American beef.

“This detection should not affect U.S. trade and we will continue to work with our trading partners, including South Korea, in a transparent manner to assure that they have the information they need to educate their public and consumers about the safety of U.S. beef and dairy products,” Herrick said.