September 13, 2004

 

 

Japan's Ban On US Beef Imports May End In November

 

Japan's ban on US beef imports could be lifted as early as November, in light of the Japanese government's change of attitude on cattle screening.

 

The Cabinet Office's Food Safety Commission on Thursday endorsed a report supporting the view that removing young cattle aged 20 months or younger from screenings for mad cow disease, will not increase the risk of contaminated beef finding its way into food circulation.

 

The commission is now expected to officially report its decision as early as this week to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture. This will likely lead to the termination later this month of screenings for all beef cattle, a measure that has been in place in Japan since October 2001. Exempting beef cattle aged 20 months or younger will mean that around 10% of the stock slaughtered in Japan will not be tested for the disease.

 

This tempered approach will also help break the deadlock between the Japanese and US governments over the conditions for lifting Japan's ban on US beef imports.

 

Japan's insistence that all cattle whose meat is bound for the domestic market must be screened for mad cow disease, has been a major stumbling block toward ending the ban. But if the US government accepts a demand by its Japanese counterpart to toughen its screening measures when their officials meet shortly, there is a strong likelihood that the prolonged import ban will finally be lifted.

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