March 27, 2007
Japan's Seiyu to sell US beef
Seiyu Ltd., the Japanese supermarket chain owned by Wal-Mart, said Monday (March 26) that it will start selling US beef on some of its stores amid the growing concern of major Japanese retailers on possible health hazards.
Seiyu, which operates about 400 stores in Japan, said in a statement that over 20 stores in the region near Tokyo will sell US beef beginning Saturday (March 31).
The sale of US beef has been a roller coaster ride in Japan with the series of ban and lifting it again since 2003.
In July last year, Japan has only allowed boneless meat from cows aged 20 months or younger because infection from mad cow disease is only known to occur in older cows. Tokyo also limits imports to beef that has been through stringent checks at selected US meat processing plants.
Though the US has repeatedly assured the safety of its beef, the Japanese are still wary about a BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) contamination, a degenerative nerve disease in cattle and commonly known as
Seiyu is 51 percent owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Arkansas, the world's largest retailer.
Seiyu will sell US beef chuck for steaks at cost 298 yen (US$2.53; 1.90 euro) for 100 grams (3.5 ounces), cheaper than the local beef worth 1,080 yen (US$9.15; 6.87 euro) for 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of sirloin steak, said Seiyu spokeswoman Haruko Toyama.
Japan has recently suspended imports from Tyson Food's Nebraska plant after it has found to have violated the 20-month or younger restriction on shipments. Tyson is still exporting beef from its six other US beef processing plants and has promised to take further steps to ensure only qualified products are exported to Japan.
Seiyu said only beef certified to originate from cattle 20 months or younger from a facility approved for export to Japan will be sold.
