August 13, 2008

South Korea announced Monday (August 11) to conduct tightened quarantine inspection on US ground beef after Nebraska Beef Ltd. slaughterhouse had been subject to a recall order.

All ground beef imports from Nebraska Beef Ltd. are to be inspected for E. coli O157 in the next five imports, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.

On June 30, the USDA issued an order to recall 241 tonnes of ground beef, warning that it may have been contaminated with the bacteria. The amount was increased to 2,400 tonnes four days later.

Nebraska Beef is one of the 30 slaughterhouses, fabricators and processors that can export meat to South Korea.

Furthermore, the ministry asked the USDA to provide updated information about the recall and what countermeasures have been taken to prevent E. coli O157 from getting into the food chain.

New worries about unsafe US beef have been stirred after nationwide protests rocked South Korea following the signing of new import rules on April 18.

Under the pact, South Korea agreed to open its market to most beef cuts - regardless of the age of slaughtered cattle - if specified risk materials (SRMs) are properly removed.

Two rounds of additional talks introduced voluntary restrictions limiting meat imports to animals under 30 months old, as well as tighter import restrictions on SRMs, which run the greatest risk of transmitting mad cow disease to humans.