Officials from the Alberta government and Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced the confirmation of an atypical case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy on an Alberta farm in December.
That animal was euthanized on the farm and did not enter the food or animal feed chain.
Atypical differs from its Classical counterpart because it’s “believed to occur spontaneously in all cattle populations,” the World Organisation for Animal Health says.
Despite that, three countries suspended imports of Canadian beef following the confirmation.
South Korea, Canada’s seventh-largest beef export market by volume, became the first to do so a few days after official confirmation.
That country has since lifted its suspension.
Earlier this month, the Philippines and China announced their suspensions because of atypical BSE.
With the Philippines removing its suspension, only China, the Canadian beef sector’s third-largest market, has a suspension remaining.
The United States announced it wouldn’t impose any restrictions on Canadian beef following the atypical BSE discovery.