January 18, 2006

Japan may ban US beef again if import conditions violated

Japan will ban US beef again if conditions set to ensure beef imports are free from mad cow disease are violated, according to officials from the country's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Officials from the two ministries were at a press conference on Tuesday to assuage concerns after the country lifted its ban on US beef.

In December 2005, the Japanese government adopted two conditions in ending a two-year import ban on US beef. The first condition is that beef should come from cattle up to 20 months old while the other is that the brain, spinal cords and other at-risk tissues be removed before export.

Japanese inspectors had gone to a third of such facilities in both Canada and the US and reported all facilities were abiding by these conditions. Inspection of the remaining facilities is expected to be completed by Mar 31 this year, the officials said.

Japan banned US beef imports in 2003 after the first cases appeared in both Canadian and US cattle.

Meanwhile, Singapore has also lifted restrictions on US beef Jan 17--nearly three years after its ban in 2003.

It is allowing de-boned beef cuts from young cattle less than 30 months old, according to Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority. Officials had carried out a full assessment and are convinced current safeguards are adequate.

Only 5 percent of the beef consumed in Singapore comes from the US, with the bulk coming from Australia and New Zealand.