July 27, 2006

US officials: Japan, US agree on BSE safety for beef trade

Japan has agreed that the US system for keeping beef safe from mad cow disease is effective and beef trade is expected to resume despite one US packing plant expected to be temporarily excluded from trade, US government officials said Wednesday (Jul 26).

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they expect Japan to announce a resumption of importing US beef as early as Thursday.

The US and Japan "are on the same page," one US government official said.

The one US beef producer expected to be excluded will be re-audited and is expected to be pronounced fit for trade with Japan in a few weeks time.

"This is completely different from South Korea," a US government official said. Japan has "accepted the US system".

South Korea found problems with individual US beef producers, but also remains at odds with the US Department of Agriculture over other issues. US and South Korean negotiators have been unable to reach agreements that would allow beef trade to resume.

Japan stopped importing US beef in January because a shipment contained prohibited material. That trade halt came about a month after Japan had eased a two-year ban on US beef. That original ban was put on the US beef in response to the first discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, in the US.

The US has agreed to ship to Japan only beef from cattle slaughtered before they turned 21 months old and after all material the Japanese believe to be risky for BSE infection has been removed.