U.S. Classified as Controlled Risk for Mad Cow Disease (Environment News Service) WASHINGTON, DC , May 23, 2007 (ENS) - The World Organization for Animal Health, OIE, Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution recommending that the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Taiwan, Chile and Brazil be recognized as having "controlled" risk status for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE, commonly known as mad cow disease. [News Source]

U.S. Pushes For “Full U.S. Beef Access to Korea” (donga.com) The United States is strongly insisting that Korea open its beef market completely as U.S. beef was proven safe from the mad cow disease by the World Animal Health Organization (OIE). [News Source]

Health experts say Canada’s mad cow risk controlled (CTV.ca) Canada's mad cow protection measures have earned the second-highest safety designation from the world's leading animal health organization, a stamp which the cattle industry hopes will translate into more exports. [News Source]

Take control of your food, grow it yourself. Doiron's Web site, Kitchen Gardeners International, extols the virtues of taking control of your food while reducing the distance it travels from the farm to the fork, which some estimates put at an average of 1,500 miles. [News Source]

Japan: No plans to relax U.S. beef rules. Japan has no immediate plans to relax its strict conditions on imports of U.S. beef, despite a decision by an international body saying some restrictions were not necessary, the government said Wednesday. [News Source]

South Korea may consider allowing bones in US beef. South Korea may heed calls in Washington and ease restrictions on U.S. beef with bones after an international agency vouched for the safety of the product, banned due to mad cow fears, a farm ministry official said on Wednesday. [News Source]

Mad cow, bird flu: veterinary response is improving says agency (AFP via Yahoo! News) The response to mad-cow disease and H5N1 bird flu among farm animals has improved, thanks to common guidelines and better veterinary surveillance, the world's top agency for safety in the meat and livestock trade said on Wednesday. [News Source]

Health experts say Canada’s mad cow risk controlled (CTV.ca) Canada's mad cow protection measures have earned the second-highest safety designation from the world's leading animal health organization, a stamp which the cattle industry hopes will translate into more exports. [News Source]

Animal risk status: Much improved: U.S. mad cow ‘controlled’ (Tulsa World) U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns says American beef has been proven safe and can be exported. Oklahoma beef producers hungry to regain international market share got a big boost Tuesday when a world health group rewarded the United States for its fight against mad-cow disease. [News Source]

Watch for more coverage of the fallout from elevated lead levels in tap water (London Free Press) CALGARY -- Canada's mad cow protection measures have earned the second-highest safety designation from the world's leading animal health organization, a stamp which the cattle industry hopes will translate into more exports. [News Source]