US lifts Irish beef ban after more than 15 years

The U.S., the world’s biggest beef consumer, is lifting a ban on imports from Ireland more than 15 years after bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, spurred restrictions of supplies from Europe. Ireland’s agriculture ministry said it’s the first European Union country to regain access to the U.S. market, which buys more beef than any other country, according to an online statement. The nation is the EU’s sixth-biggest beef producer and ranks third for exports, data from statistics agency Eurostat show. Read more at Bloomberg…