When you think of beef from South America, Brazil and Argentina come to mind. But for some reason, the USDA is now focused on lesser-known Paraguay. The USDA does so by alleviating concerns about foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral disease.
Paraguay, officially known as the Republic of Paraguay, is landlocked and bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest.
Paraguay has a population of only 7 million, of which nearly 3 million live in its capital and largest city, Asuncion, and the surrounding metropolitan area.
In next month’s national elections, communist China could push Taiwan away from Paraguay’s support.
Nevertheless, the USDA says fresh beef can be safely imported from Paraguay under certain conditions, including ensuring that no foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has been diagnosed in the exporting region in the past 12 months. We’ve decided it’s time to judge.Fresh beef comes from facilities where FMD has never been present in the animal’s lifetime, according to the USDA.
Animals were examined before and after death, and at other times.
In that proposed rule, published at Federal Gazettethe USDA proposes amending certain regulations to allow chilled or frozen fresh beef from Paraguay for import into the United States.
“Based on evidence from our risk analysis, we have determined that fresh beef may be safely imported from Paraguay if certain conditions are met,” the USDA said in its rulemaking document. “This measure will allow fresh beef imports from Paraguay into the United States while continuing to protect the United States from horseshoe disease infestations.”
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is accepting comments on Paraguay’s plans through May 26, 2023. APHIS will address all comments in the final rule.
The USDA does not recognize that the export region is FMD-free, but relies on the fact that Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay all require FMD vaccination in cattle. “Historically, APHIS considers Paraguay to be a foot-and-mouth disease-affected country, so trade in fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from Paraguay was not allowed.” Federal Gazette Announcements continue.
APHIS essentially allows Paraguay to comply with the conditions imposed on its larger export territories. That change of heart is based on Paraguay’s risk analysis. Some of the work dates back to his APHIS site visits from 2008-2014.
APHIS “concluded that Paraguay has sound systems for animal identification and traceability, site registration, and animal movement control.” I found out that there is
According to APHIS, Chile is the only country in South America that is free of FMD.
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