January 5, 2005

 

 

Japan Commission Recommends Limited US Beef Imports

 

A mission sent by the Japanese government to analyze measures to prevent mad cow disease in North America presented a report December 7 indicating the need to substantially limit beef imports from the United States even when Japan removes a ban on them, Kyodo News reported.

 

Data on slaughtered cows were found to vary greatly from farm to farm in the United States, they said.

 

The mission visited farms and other cattle-related facilities in Alberta, Canada, and the U.S. state of Kansas from November 29 until December 3 in order to gather data to help the government decide whether to remove an import ban on beef from the United States and Canada imposed after the discovery of mad cow disease in the two countries, Kyodo said.

 

Planning to allow imports of beef only from cows slaughtered when they were 20 months old or younger, the government requires accurate data on the age of cows as a condition for lifting the ban.

 

The mission found that Canada has a nationwide system to trace each cow while the accuracy and storage of data on beef production in the United States vary greatly in accordance with farms in the absence of a uniform recording system, Kyodo reported.

 

Based on the mission report, a farm ministry official said that while resumption of full-scale beef imports from Canada is highly likely if necessary conditions are met, imports of American beef will be substantially limited even when the ban is removed unless accurate production data become available.

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