July 7, 2006

South Korea tells US beef plants: segregate or be banned
 

South Korea told the Bush administration Thursday (Jul 6) its ban on US beef would continue until US slaughterhouses segregate Canadian beef products.

South Korea closed its borders to US beef in December 2003 after the first US case of mad cow disease was reported.

Despite tighter food safety standards implemented in US plants, South Korean government officials are skeptical safety would be assured when there is mingling of US and Canadian beef.

Canada, which sends cattle and beef from animals under 30 months old into the United States for finishing, reported its sixth case of mad cow disease this week. It now has twice as many cases of mad cow disease as the US. One of the US cases was discovered in a cow imported from Canada.

Despite recent developments, South Korea maintains that it was close to re-opening its market. Its inspectors found few problems with US plants except for the fact that the same equipment used for processing Canadian cattle was being used on US cattle.

Canada's mad cow problem is making it more difficult for US beef to get back into the markets of South Korea and Japan, said Chuck Kiker, president of US ranchers group R-CALF USA, adding there is an urgent need to differentiate US beef from Canadian beef.