Japan discovers US beef shipments with high BSE risk

The Japanese government on Wednesday (July 22) said it has detected two boxes of US beef imported to Japan that contain a cattle part with a high risk of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) infection.

 

The boxes contained 50 kilograms of chunks with spine, one of the risky parts banned by Japan. The shipment is among the 810 of beef ribs imported by a unit of Japanese meat processing firm Starzen Co.

 

Japan has allowed imports of US beef in July 2006 on a condition that the meat is taken from young cattle aged up to 20 months and that the brain, spine and other cattle parts with a high risk of BSE or commonly known as mad cow disease, are removed.

 

This is the second time since the resumption that Japan has found a risky cattle part in US beef shipments. The two boxes, which arrived at Japanese port on Tuesday, have not entered the country's distribution chain.

 

It is believed that the detection may affect negotiations between Tokyo and Washington, which is calling for the abolition of the import restrictions.

 

The meat was shipped from a processing plant in Kansas run by Creekstone Farms Premium Beef LLC. The Japanese government already has halted beef imports from the plant and asked for a probe by the US Department of Agriculture.

 

The suspension is unlikely to pose any serious problem for Japan's restaurant and retail industries because Creekstone accounts for only around 6 percent of Japan's total imports of US beef.

 

The incident came after a similar discovery in meat stored at a facility of Yoshinoya Holdings Co., which operates a "gyudon" restaurant chain, in April 2008. The beef was shipped from a different US firm.