P.J. Huffstutter

CHICAGO, (Reuters) – U.S. On Thursday, Senator Jon Tester introduced legislation that would stop the import of Brazilian beef to the United States. He also called on experts to examine “the commodity’s safety” following media reports that Brazil had delayed reporting two cases mad cow disease cases.

Montana Democrat Tester has introduced the bill. He is responding to political pressure by cattle producers from America, who want to halt imports of Brazilian fresh meat.

Brazil is the largest exporter of beef in the world. In September, China was informed that two cases (or bovine spongiform, encephalopathy) had been confirmed in Brazil.

According to the Nov. 12 correspondence sent by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that the first cases of the disease were detected in June.

USDA (the agency that regulates beef imports in the United States) did not respond to comments on Thursday.

According to U.S. Census Bureau trade data, $62.3 million worth of Brazilian beef and other beef products was imported by the United States in the first nine month of the year. This is a 36% increase on the previous year. Brazil was, in total, the second largest U.S. source of beef products and beef product imports, just behind Mexico.

Recent reports of two patients with a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the brain in Rio de Janeiro have increased political pressure on USDA.

Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry claimed that these cases are not connected to beef consumption. They also dispelled fears about possible bovine-spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) causing illness.