April 26, 2006

 

Japan's opposition squashes hopes of resuming US beef imports by June
 

 

Opposition lawmakers are gearing up to block a resumption of US beef imports in Japan's next parliamentary session in a move which could squash all hopes of resuming imports by June, Japan's largest opposition party announced on Tuesday (Apr 25).

 

Masahiko Yamada, who is in charge of farm policy at the Democratic Party of Japan, said the party would urge the government to sustain a ban on US beef until Washington agrees to tightens animal feed rules to stop the spread of mad cow disease.

 

Yamada said current rules are inadequate to ensure the safety of US beef. He said he saw for himself that US meat plants had difficulties meeting the requirements when he and his party colleagues visited facilities there this year.

 

The main problem with the US safety measures was that the US still allows specified risk materials from cattle to be used as feed for other animals such as pigs and chickens, he said.

 

Although the US government bans the use of cattle parts for cattle feed, American cattle are at risk of eating banned materials as they can be accidentally fed with chicken feed, he said.

 

The Japanese government should ask the United States to tighten animal feed regulations as a prerequisite for import resumption, he said.

 

If Washington does not tighten feed rules, Yamada said, Japan could get its beef supplies from US companies that test cattle for mad cow disease, such as Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC.

 

Last month, the company sued the USDA to be allowed to test its cattle for mad cow disease. The USDA opposes private testing of cattle.

 

Japan suspended US beef imports on Jan 20, when inspectors discovered banned spinal material in a veal shipment from New York.

 

The government has said it would not allow imports to restart until Washington found the cause of the violation and took measures to prevent a recurrence.

 

Yamada said it would be hard for the US to prevent similar incidents completely, since 2 US companies made shipments of banned cattle parts to Hong Kong this year.