September 25, 2010

Miyazaki cows clear of FMD

The farm ministry said all cows in Miyazaki, Japan tested negative for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), raising expectations that a virtual ban on beef exports from Japan will be removed.

Based on the test result, the Japanese government will likely ask the World Organisation for Animal Health in October to reclassify Japan as a country free of the disease to restart beef exports, said officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Reclassification by the Paris-based global referee on animal ailment matters, or the OIE, is expected to come in February next year, they added.

The OIE designated Japan as an FMD-infected country following the outbreak in the southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki in April, triggering a provisional complete stoppage of beef exports from Japan.