January 19, 2004

Japan Says US Still Susceptible to Mad Cow

US officials trying to convince Japan of the safety of US beef is likely to have an uphill task. Japan's Farm Ministry clearly stated on Monday that the United States is still susceptible to US beef.

Japan, the biggest export market for US beef, banned US beef last month following the discovery of mad cow disease. The two countries will hold beef trade talks later this week.

"It is difficult to say that there is a significant difference in the level of BSE contamination between the United States and Canada," a ministry fact-finding team dispatched to North America from January 8-18 said in a report.

"There is no guarantee that BSE will not occur again in the United States," it said.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Undersecretary J.B. Penn will visit Japan this week to explain new U.S. safeguards so that trade can resume.

He will also be traveling to the Philippines, Hong Kong and South Korea.

A Farm Ministry official, briefing reporters about the Japanese fact-finding trip, said there had been no discussion on resuming U.S. exports.

Washington has been pressuring Japan -- the biggest buyer of U.S. beef -- to lift the ban, which has halted U.S. exports to Japan worth about $1 billion a year, or about 45 percent of Japan's beef imports.