The Northern Ireland Minister of Agriculture, Ms Brid Rodgers, described the results of a BSE screening programme yesterday as "disappointing but not entirely surprising". It detected 54 cases among 2,500 casualty cattle.
She stressed the North was the first area to use pioneering mass Inver testing approved by the European Commission last year.
"As far as Northern Ireland's bid for resumption of beef exports is concerned, it is my intention to press on with it as soon as the time is right," added Ms Rodgers, who said she believed it was safe to eat beef.
Figures for BSE in the North peaked in 1993 when 500 cases were detected. Last year 22 cases were recorded up from six cases in 1999. More than 80 people have died from vCJD, the human form of the disease, in the UK including a west Belfast man.
The North is currently engaged in limited exportation to the Continent under a certified herd scheme after it was granted an exemption from the British beef ban. Ms Rodgers is aiming to achieve low incident status.
Mr Ian Paisley jnr, of the DUP, said Ms Rodgers had been "exposed as foolhardy" in her attempt to fast-track resumption of full exports.
According to the Department of Agriculture the animals tested - aged over 30 months and suffering injury or illness - were most likely to be harbouring BSE and had been put down or died on farms last year.
Consumers should not worry, said Mr Morris McAllister, the Northern Ireland director of the Food Standards Agency, a non-ministerial British government body established last April to address public concerns over food safety.
The Consumers' Association welcomed the new screening methods used in the Northern tests. The Ulster Farmers' Union admitted the results were disappointing.