February 16, 2006

 

Japan knew of US breaching of rules before buying beef 
 

 

Japan knew that all but two US beef processing plants which were allowed to export to Japan had violated US rules designed to prevent mad cow disease from reaching humans, a news report said Thursday.

 

36 of the 38 meatpackers allowed to export to Japan after Tokyo lifted a two-year ban on US beef had previous records of violating the rules to remove at-risk parts from cows, the Asahi Shimbun reported, citing Japan's Health Minister, Jiro Kawasaki.

 

Japan eased the import ban in December on the condition that imports be limited to meat from cows aged 20 months or younger, and that brains, bone marrow and other parts thought to be high risk for mad cow disease are removed.

 

Last month, however, Japan suspended imports of US beef after finding a veal shipment containing backbone, which Japan considers at high risk of mad cow disease.

 

Kawasaki said during a Parliamentary meeting Wednesday that the US Agriculture Department had notified Japan of the meatpackers' history of US violations in August, according to the paper.

 

The health minister said, however, that Japan concluded safety standards at those facilities were met after the facilities took measures to comply with the guidelines laid out in the US-Japan trade agreement, the report said.

 

Health Ministry official Yutaka Konishi said he could not confirm the minister's comments or the number of US facilities that apparently violated rules in the past. Officials at the Agriculture Ministry were not immediately available for comment.

 

The US Department of Agriculture has reported more than 1,000 violations between January 2004 and May 2005 of rules that require brains, spinal cords and other nerve parts be removed when older cows are slaughtered.

 

The rules, which apply to the animal parts thought most likely to carry mad cow disease, were created in response to the first US case, which appeared in December 2003.

 

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday that Japan will maintain its strict standards for US beef imports because the Japanese are particularly sensitive on food safety issues.