June 14, 2007

South Korea to assess Canadian beef for import risk analysis

The South Korean government said Wednesday (June 13) that it will conduct an import risk analysis to gauge the safety of Canadian beef which has been banned since May 2003.

Canada has formally requested the South Korea Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to take the action on Canadian beef bound to South Korea following the "mad cow disease-controlled risk" decision by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) in late May.

Kim Chang-seob, chief veterinary officer at the ministry, said South Korea's decision to entirely lift its restrictions depend on the full evaluation of Canada's beef production procedures in accordance with rules set by the World Trade Organization. The evaluation includes on-site inspections of cattle ranches and meat packaging facilities.

Canada was the country's fourth biggest beef exporter, accounting 5 percent of the South Korean market or 17,000 tonnes yearly.

The Seoul office of the Canada Beef Export Federation (CBEF) is also requesting South Korea to give Canadian beef equal access vis-a-vis American beef which has been given quarantine clearance in April. Washington is also pushing to sell bone-in beef such as ribs to South Korea after the OIE's announcement.

Amos Kim, CBEF's chief in Seoul said Canada's food safety regime is one of the most advanced in the world as it implements a rigorous programme to remove specified risk materials (SRMs) from the meat.

SRMs refers to such parts as head bones, brains, vertebral columns, spinal cords and dorsal root ganglions, which pose the greatest risk of transmitting mad cow disease to humans.

Kim said that once Seoul lifts the ban, many South Korean importers have expressed a wish to buy Canadian beef based on the organisation's estimates that up to 32,000 tonnes of Canadian beef can be sold in South Korea by 2015.