July 1, 2011

Demand for Australian beef reduced after Japanese E. coli scare

The E. coli health scare in Japan, which was wrongly blamed on beef from Australia, has reduced demand throughout the world for Australian boxed beef, according to exporter Stockyard Beef.

Lachie Hart, from Stockyard Beef, says sales of grinding beef to Japan and the US have flattened, and he predicts that the reduced demand will continue until the end of the year.

Fifteen people in Japan's Toyama prefecture fell ill with the O157 strain of E. coli after eating at a popular Korean-style barbecue restaurant chain, Gyukaka, on May 6.

Beef imported from Australia was initially suspected as the source, but was cleared after an investigation.

Hart blamed the scare in creating "ill-confidence in consuming beef in that sector."