December 29, 2003

Korean Importers Told To Return Or Destroy US Beef By-Products

Korean importers of U.S. beef were told by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to either destroy or return 2,309 tons of byproducts as a precaution against mad cow disease.

The products to be destroyed or returned include 379 tons of cattle spines, 1,930 tons of intestines and other Specified Risk Material (SRM).

Most of them are in warehouses and inspection venues under the control of customs authorities, ministry officials said.

The ministry also located and sealed 38 tons of SRM kept by several importers of U.S. beef on Sunday alone, bringing to 66.5 tons the total amount of SRM held by importers for imminent distribution.

The ministry will conclude the first phase of the sealing process by the end of the year, one week after it dispatched 477 inspection teams across the nation to locate U.S. beef and SRM in the wake of an outbreak of mad cow disease in the United States on December 24.