August 10, 2004
Japan Commission Still Undecided On New Mad-Cow Regulations
Officials with Japan's Food Safety Commission have reached no consensus after a Friday meeting on altering the country's mad-cow disease regulations, a move that could help open the Japanese market to U.S. beef, a government official said Monday.
Masamichi Saito, a communications official with Japan's Food Safety Commission, stated Monday that at least one more meeting is likely to be needed.
Saito said in order for Japan to allow in beef from the U.S., where mad-cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, regulations still differ, Japan must agree to change domestic policy.
A major remaining difference between the two countries is the quantity of BSE testing performed on cattle. Japan requires 100% testing while the U.S. is conducting a one-time testing campaign targeted at mostly those animals deemed to be in the highest risk category.
Japanese representatives in a U.S.-Japan working group suggested in a recent report that Japan may be willing to back off its 100% testing requirements. The July 22 report stated that Japan agrees that a build up of abnormal prion protein, associated with BSE infection, "in younger animals is unlikely to be detected using current methods."
U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services J.B. Penn has said Japan's Food Safety Commission will play a key role in deciding if and how Japan will be able to lift its ban on U.S. beef.
Penn is still tentatively planning to lead a high-level USDA delegation to Tokyo this month, but department spokesman Ed Loyd said Monday that trip has still not been scheduled.
A USDA official said a date for Penn's trip to Japan is not likely to be set until Japan's Food Safety Commission finishes deliberations.
Japan, which is traditionally the largest foreign market for U.S. beef, banned it in December after the USDA announced the discovery of a case of BSE.
The U.S. exported 352,448 metric tons of beef to Japan in 2003, worth about $1.3 billion, according to USDA data compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
