August 3, 2006

Japan rejects US calls to relax beef requirements

Japanese officials have turned down requests by US Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns to schedule talks about opening the Japanese market to beef from cattle over 20 months but under 30 months of age.

Farm Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said that most Japanese are already displeased with the recent resumption of US beef imports and to expand imports at this time would be highly premature.

Japan has its own safety rules and even those rules are not unanimously supported by its citizens, Nakagawa said.

The US however, insists that international standards hold that beef from cattle under 30 months is low-risk from mad cow disease as long as risky materials are removed.

Japan however, parried by saying that since the youngest cattle ever to get mad cow disease was 21 months old, only cattle 20 months or younger would be totally safe.