July 25, 2007

South Korea bars meat from two US meat processors

South Korea has momentarily banned imports from two US meat processing centres after finding beef ribs in shipments that arrived last week, the government said Tuesday (July 24).

The National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service said it found the unauthorized ribs which came from two large shipments by Cargill Inc  and Swift and Co during routine import inspections.

South Korea agreed to allow the import of boneless beef from cattle under 30 months old but it has not allowed the import of bone-in beef like ribs under a deal reached in January 2006.

The quarantine office under the Agriculture Ministry said the 2,138 tonnes of beef in the shipments were sent back, and that the processing facilities that sent the shipments were asked to explain why ribs were exported to South Korea.

A ministry official said the ban will be kept in place until an explanation is provided.