February 16, 2007

Japan to suspend beef imports from US plant
 

Japan will suspend beef imports from a US processing plant after finding meat in a shipment that may violate a regulation imposed over mad cow concerns, the government said Friday.

The ministries of health and agriculture said inspectors at the port of Yokohama found two boxes of rib meat in a shipment sent by US agricultural giant Tyson Food Inc from its plant in Lexington, Nebraska State, that were not recorded in the accompanying shipping documents.

The shipment's importer could not confirm that the meat met a government requirement that all beef destined for Japan be from animals age 20 months or younger, the ministries said in a statement. Young animals are believed less likely to be infected with mad cow disease, the common name for bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

As a result, the ministries decided to suspend shipments from the processing plant until Japan can obtain further information from US authorities and the exporter, they said.

No banned materials have been found in the shipment, the statement added. The shipment consists of about nine tonnes of frozen beef.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters Friday that the suspension was necessary to ensure food safety.

"We need to investigate further," Abe said.

Eating meat contaminated with mad cow disease is linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a rare but deadly nerve disorder.