Japan to resume imports of Canadian processed beef, 20 years after mad cow disease

Japan is lifting the last of its restrictions against Canadian beef, 20 years after BSE, often called mad cow disease, devastated this country’s cattle industry.

The federal government says Japan is reopening its doors to processed beef and beef patties from Canada.

The move puts an end to the market access barriers Japan put in place in 2003, after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, was discovered in Alberta.

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That discovery prompted a global shutdown of Canadian beef exports — a body blow to an industry that exports fully half of what it produces.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association estimated the losses at upwards of $5 billion over the following three years.

While Japan was among the nations who initially shut its border to all Canadian beef, it has been lifting restrictions in stages over the years, most recently with its 2019 decision to begin accepting Canadian beef from cattle older than 30 months of age.

The federal government says Japan is now Canada’s second-largest market for beef, with exports worth $518 million in 2022.

In total, around 40 countries closed their borders to Canadian beef during the height of the 2003 BSE crisis, resulting in billions of lost revenue.

An estimated 26,000 producers left the industry entirely between 2006 and 2011, and more than 8,000 square kilometres of pasture lands were converted to other uses during that period, the cattlemen’s association said.

BSE is a fatal and untreatable wasting disease of the brain and nervous systems. It is caused by rogue proteins called prions, which can be spread through contaminated feed.

Humans who eat infected beef can develop a fatal disease called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Fewer than 250 human cases have been reported worldwide.

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