November 6, 2006

US adds on the pressure for Japan to raise cattle age limits

US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said Friday (Nov 3) he would press Japan to remove the age limit on imports of US beef, repeating a demand to raise the limit to 30 months from the current 20 months.

In addition, Johanns also said that the department would not allow US meat producers to individually conduct testing of mad cow disease unless ordered to do so. The issue of individual testing is now being tested in a lawsuit in the federal courts.

Johanns hopes to meet Japan's new farm minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka by the end of this year to resume the talks of lowering age limits for beef cattle exported to Japan.

While US standards require removal of brains, spinals cords, bones and other risk materials from cattle aged 30 months or older to prevent mad cow disease from being transmitted to humans, Japan only allows beef from cattle up to 20 months.

Johanns also hinted that a reciprocal approach from the US putting age limits on Japanese beef imports to the US would virtually wipe out the trade as almost all Japanese beef to the US is from cattle aged 30 months or older.

Washington called for abolition of the 30-month standard in a recent general meeting of the World Organisation for Animal Health, which basically agreed on the risk-based approach but maintained the age limit.

Johanns also rejected calls from some US producers to allow individual testing by producers to assure Japanese concerns of mad cow disease.

Japan itself carries out blanket testing on all slaughtered cattle although cattle aged up to 20 months have been exempted from mad cow testing recently.

Johanns explained that testing may not necessarily yield the most definite results and the only reliable protection is the removal of specified risk materials.