May 6, 2008

 

South Korea to resume inspections of US beef

 

 

Quarantine inspections of US beef shipped into South Korea is expected to resume on May 15 after a seven-month suspension that banned all imports.

 

The government will complete its internal review process on the new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards by May 13 and begin inspections on the 15th, said the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries together with local beef importers.

 

The import sanitation agreement signed in Seoul allows most US beef cuts, including ribs, T-bone steak and intestines to be brought into Korea.

 

In addition, Korea has agreed to place no age limit on cattle that can be butchered to provide meat.

 

Under the old SPS standards established in early 2006, Korea agreed to import only boneless beef from cattle under 30 months old.

 

Inspections are to begin with the 5,300 tonnes of US beef that have been held in storage in Korea since October, when Seoul stopped all quarantine inspections after the discovery of banned backbone parts, the ministry said.

 

Once completed, they will be handed over to importers for sale and should reach store shelves and restaurants within the month.

 

Screenings will be based on new standards, allowing bone-in beef to enter the country. There will be no checking of all packages by X-ray to find bone chips.

 

Local inspectors will focus on finding specified risk materials, including tonsils and the distal ileum, a part of the small intestine. These parts are banned because they pose the greatest risk of transmitting BSE to humans.

 

Beginning mid May, only 32 meat-processing facilities in the US will be allowed to ship beef to Korea, the ministry said.

 

All restrictions will be removed, however, after a 90-day grace period.