John Comer, President, Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA).
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) have warned people not to overreact to a suspected case of BSE in Co Louth.
The Department of Agriculture announced yesterday that a suspected case of mad cow disease had been discovered on a dairy farm in the county. It is understood the farm in question was near Louth Village.
The five-year-old cow in question was not sent for slaughter and did not enter the food chain.
They are 80% positive that the cow died from BSE with a second test, the results of which are due out next week, set to confirm the first case of BSE in Ireland since 2013.
Speaking on Today FM this morning, ICMSA president John Comer said the find was “disappointing” but insisted “it certainly isn’t by any manner of means catastrophic.”
He added: “I think we have a history of being able to deal with this. We have structures in place and, if anything, the big positives out of this is that it shows that the structures we have in place are enough to protect the general public and to protect consumers.”
There are fears over the impact the case could have on the country’s €2.2bn beef industry.
