Japan finds fresh violation of US beef import rules
Forbes
AFX News Limited
11.08.2006
TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Japan said it will ban imports of beef from one US factory for violating safety guidelines against madcow disease reached after a bitter bilateral feud.
Japan found that a box of US beef that arrived on October 30 contained gland matter which was not on the list of body parts approved for export to Japan, the agriculture ministry said.
Gland matter was not explicitly banned but needed to be on the list of body parts approved for export, a ministry statement said.
The shipment was part of 760 boxes, or 11 tons, of beef products sent from Swift and Co's factory in Greeley, Colorado, the ministry said. The other 759 boxes of beef had no safety problems.
Japan will stop imports from the Greeley facility and ask US authorities to investigate why the mistake happened, the statement said.
forbes.com
Japan says to halt imports from one U.S. beef plant
Reuters
Wed Nov 8, 2006
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan has decided to temporarily suspend beef imports from one U.S. plant after a cargo from the plant arrived without the necessary documentation, Health Ministry officials told reporters on Wednesday.
Japan lifted a ban on U.S. beef imports on July 27.
A Health Ministry official said the beef in question came from the privately held Swift & Company's Greeley Plant in Colorado.
The official said the cargo concerned did not contain any risk material that would have violated safety guidelines agreed between Japan and the United States ahead of the resumption of beef imports.
"For the time being, we will not allow beef from the facility to enter the Japanese market," the official told reporters.
Japanese inspectors found that one of the 760 boxes of beef that were shipped from the Greeley Plant contained cattle thymus -- a ductless gland near the throat. The thymus is not classified as risk material, but documentation is still needed for imports of this cattle part to be shipped to Japan.
Some senior government officials have said imports should be halted again if banned material was again found in a U.S. beef shipment.
Other beef imports will not be affected by the temporary suspension, the Health Ministry said.
Japan first banned U.S. beef in December 2003 after the United States discovered its first case of mad-cow disease.
Tokyo initially agreed to resume imports of U.S. beef in December 2005, but it closed its borders again a month later when Japanese inspectors found banned material in a veal shipment from a New York company.
Japan later decided to resume U.S. beef trade a second time, but on condition that certain safety measures be taken to guard against the risk of mad-cow disease.
The Health Ministry said the beef in question come from the privately held Swift & Company's Greeley Plant in Colorado.
Japan will only resume imports from the plant after it has conducted inspections there.
To guard against the dangers of mad-cow disease, Japan only imports U.S. beef from animals aged up to 20 months, which are believed to be at a lower risk of the brain-wasting disease. It also requires that U.S. suppliers eliminate specified risk materials, such as spinal cords, which carry a higher risk of spreading the disease.
The human variant of mad-cow disease has caused over 160 deaths worldwide, including one in Japan, and is thought to be spread by eating contaminated meat.
Japan was the largest export market for the United States prior to the initial ban, with trade in 2003 valued at $1.4 billion.
Rival Australia has come to dominate Japan's foreign beef market in the absence of the United States.
today.reuters.com
Forbes
AFX News Limited
11.08.2006
TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Japan said it will ban imports of beef from one US factory for violating safety guidelines against madcow disease reached after a bitter bilateral feud.
Japan found that a box of US beef that arrived on October 30 contained gland matter which was not on the list of body parts approved for export to Japan, the agriculture ministry said.
Gland matter was not explicitly banned but needed to be on the list of body parts approved for export, a ministry statement said.
The shipment was part of 760 boxes, or 11 tons, of beef products sent from Swift and Co's factory in Greeley, Colorado, the ministry said. The other 759 boxes of beef had no safety problems.
Japan will stop imports from the Greeley facility and ask US authorities to investigate why the mistake happened, the statement said.
forbes.com
Japan says to halt imports from one U.S. beef plant
Reuters
Wed Nov 8, 2006
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan has decided to temporarily suspend beef imports from one U.S. plant after a cargo from the plant arrived without the necessary documentation, Health Ministry officials told reporters on Wednesday.
Japan lifted a ban on U.S. beef imports on July 27.
A Health Ministry official said the beef in question came from the privately held Swift & Company's Greeley Plant in Colorado.
The official said the cargo concerned did not contain any risk material that would have violated safety guidelines agreed between Japan and the United States ahead of the resumption of beef imports.
"For the time being, we will not allow beef from the facility to enter the Japanese market," the official told reporters.
Japanese inspectors found that one of the 760 boxes of beef that were shipped from the Greeley Plant contained cattle thymus -- a ductless gland near the throat. The thymus is not classified as risk material, but documentation is still needed for imports of this cattle part to be shipped to Japan.
Some senior government officials have said imports should be halted again if banned material was again found in a U.S. beef shipment.
Other beef imports will not be affected by the temporary suspension, the Health Ministry said.
Japan first banned U.S. beef in December 2003 after the United States discovered its first case of mad-cow disease.
Tokyo initially agreed to resume imports of U.S. beef in December 2005, but it closed its borders again a month later when Japanese inspectors found banned material in a veal shipment from a New York company.
Japan later decided to resume U.S. beef trade a second time, but on condition that certain safety measures be taken to guard against the risk of mad-cow disease.
The Health Ministry said the beef in question come from the privately held Swift & Company's Greeley Plant in Colorado.
Japan will only resume imports from the plant after it has conducted inspections there.
To guard against the dangers of mad-cow disease, Japan only imports U.S. beef from animals aged up to 20 months, which are believed to be at a lower risk of the brain-wasting disease. It also requires that U.S. suppliers eliminate specified risk materials, such as spinal cords, which carry a higher risk of spreading the disease.
The human variant of mad-cow disease has caused over 160 deaths worldwide, including one in Japan, and is thought to be spread by eating contaminated meat.
Japan was the largest export market for the United States prior to the initial ban, with trade in 2003 valued at $1.4 billion.
Rival Australia has come to dominate Japan's foreign beef market in the absence of the United States.
today.reuters.com