Japanese plan to visit Creekstone
By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer
Japanese officials plan to tour the Creekstone Farms Premium Beef plant Friday morning -- the second such tour in the past two weeks, a Creekstone official said today.
"This time it's the head majority party of the Diet Members," said Kevin Pentz, vice president of operations for Creekstone. "Last week we had the minority."
Japan's ruling party said Thursday it would send inspectors to U.S. beef facilities, including a Tyson Foods Inc. facility in Kansas, according to the Associated Press. The tour was being planned amid Tokyo's ban on American meat as an agricultural official demanded an explanation from Washington following reports that "downer" cattle were slaughtered for human consumption at U.S. plants.
Nine officials of the Democratic Party of Japan, the minority party, toured Creekstone on Jan. 30. After the tour, the officials, who were accompanied by several officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, met with Creekstone managers. The tour and meeting took a little over three hours. Afterwards, the officials headed for the Tyson plant in Emporia.
"It's the same drill tomorrow, only different officials," Pentz said.
He added that Creekstone was viewed favorably by the last group of officials for its processing procedures and its desire to test all cattle slaughtered at the plant for mad cow disease, according to media reports.
But according to AP, a recent fact-finding mission sent by opposition lawmakers reportedly found the Tyson facility in Kansas did not completely remove banned parts from the beef it processed.
"Realistically, we're in a good position," Pentz said today. "The Japanese look at us as a private company willing to go along with private testing (for mad cow disease)."
Creekstone has sought to please its Japanese customers by doing blanket private testing, but a request to do so was rejected by the USDA.
Japan halted U.S. imports last month after the discovery of backbones in a shipment of American veal.
The bones are deemed to be at risk of mad cow disease and are banned under a deal that reopened the Japanese market to beef in December, AP reports.
"This has been going on for two-and-a-half years," Pentz said.
By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer
Japanese officials plan to tour the Creekstone Farms Premium Beef plant Friday morning -- the second such tour in the past two weeks, a Creekstone official said today.
"This time it's the head majority party of the Diet Members," said Kevin Pentz, vice president of operations for Creekstone. "Last week we had the minority."
Japan's ruling party said Thursday it would send inspectors to U.S. beef facilities, including a Tyson Foods Inc. facility in Kansas, according to the Associated Press. The tour was being planned amid Tokyo's ban on American meat as an agricultural official demanded an explanation from Washington following reports that "downer" cattle were slaughtered for human consumption at U.S. plants.
Nine officials of the Democratic Party of Japan, the minority party, toured Creekstone on Jan. 30. After the tour, the officials, who were accompanied by several officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, met with Creekstone managers. The tour and meeting took a little over three hours. Afterwards, the officials headed for the Tyson plant in Emporia.
"It's the same drill tomorrow, only different officials," Pentz said.
He added that Creekstone was viewed favorably by the last group of officials for its processing procedures and its desire to test all cattle slaughtered at the plant for mad cow disease, according to media reports.
But according to AP, a recent fact-finding mission sent by opposition lawmakers reportedly found the Tyson facility in Kansas did not completely remove banned parts from the beef it processed.
"Realistically, we're in a good position," Pentz said today. "The Japanese look at us as a private company willing to go along with private testing (for mad cow disease)."
Creekstone has sought to please its Japanese customers by doing blanket private testing, but a request to do so was rejected by the USDA.
Japan halted U.S. imports last month after the discovery of backbones in a shipment of American veal.
The bones are deemed to be at risk of mad cow disease and are banned under a deal that reopened the Japanese market to beef in December, AP reports.
"This has been going on for two-and-a-half years," Pentz said.