June 14, 2006

Creekstone urges company-based approval of beef exports

Creekstone Farms, one of the American beef exporters affected by South Korea's ban on US beef, has called on the US and Asian governments to conduct brand-by-brand tests to assure its safety.

Creekstone does not see why there has to be a system-wide audit, John Stewart, Creekstone's chief executive said, demanding that the inspections be conducted plant by plant.

He also warned that the stalled resumption of imports by South Korea would work as a roadblock to free trade agreement (FTA) talks underway.

South Korea banned imports of US beef in December 2003 after a case of mad cow disease was discovered at an American farm.

South Korea had promised it would resume conditional imports of US beef this month.

However a report from its inspectors who made a visit to US plants last month concluded that seven of 38 US beef processing facilities failed to meet safety requirements.

Stewart said the problem was that some of the US plants did not have the ability to segregate Canadian beef from American beef.