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(LEAD) U.S. reasserts its beef is safe

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reasserted Sunday that American beef is "among the safest in the world" and does not pose human health risks, a message targeted at South Korea whose consumers have risen up in nationwide demonstrations against importing U.S. meat.

Richard Raymond, undersecretary for food safety, declined to answer whether the beef deal, struck last month, could be reopened for negotiations as demanded by the protesters and some lawmakers in South Korea.

But the "invitation is always there" for South Korean officials to come and inspect the cattle slaughter houses, he said in a press conference hastily arranged mostly for South Korean reporters.

Reiterating the safety of U.S. beef, Raymond revealed a preliminary conclusion that a young female in Virginia had not died from variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (vCJD), which is traced to mad cow disease, as previously suspected.

On April 18, just hours before South Korean and U.S. presidents met for summit talks at Camp David, negotiators from the two countries reached an agreement in Seoul virtually ending years of restrictions on the import of American beef.

The ban was imposed in late 2003 after the U.S. confirmed its first mad cow disease case. In early 2006, the ban was partially lifted to allow in boneless products from cattle under 30 months old. Last month's agreement reopened South Korea's market to virtually all cuts of beef, except for specified risk materials (SRMs) which could be infective in a cow with mad cow disease, scientifically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Seoul has been under heavy pressure to resume imports after the U.S. tied the issue to its efforts to ratify a bilateral free trade agreement. Although beef is not a part of the trade deal agenda, senior U.S. congressmen have vowed to oppose the trade pact until South Korea fully reopens its beef market.

In May last year, the World Organization for Animal Health categorized U.S. beef as "controlled risk," meaning it is safe to export.

But local media in South Korea have aired programs highlighting potential health hazards from eating BSE-infected beef, leading to massive street demonstrations by those demanding a stop to imports.

The opposition political camp joined in, pressuring the government to re-negotiate the agreement with the U.S. Critics charge that the deal as it stands now does not permit South Korea to stop imports even if a BSE case reoccurs in the U.S.

Undersecretary Raymond was asked repeatedly if the beef deal can be reopened, and he repeatedly refused to answer.

"I am not here to discuss negotiations. I am not a negotiator," he said. "I don't know what was negotiated in Korea."
Even if BSE is found, it would be "inappropriate" to take action against the slaughter facility where it was discovered, Raymond said. "Remember, the slaughter establishment is not the cause of the BSE," he said.

"The Korean government is welcome to come to the U.S. and do an audit as they see fit, when they see fit," he said, although that "might be a step too far."
Raymond sidestepped questions about suggestions that Koreans may be genetically more vulnerable to BSE-related disease.

"That's a study I believe that deserves international examination. It goes beyond my level of training."
But again, he said removing the SRM is the answer.

"If SRM is removed, there is no worry what the genetics are," he said. "We've never had a person in the U.S. be diagnosed with vCJD for eating American beef. So if it's zero, and chances are double, double zero is still zero."
He started the press conference with a prepared statement that was read for nearly 14 minutes emphasizing the safety of U.S. beef products and the rigor of inspections to guarantee that SRMs are detected and removed at the slaughter houses.

"USDA inspectors are stationed at key points along the production line where they are able to directly observe certain SRM removal activities. Other off-line inspection personnel verify additional plant SRM removal, segregation and disposal. Moreover, FDA (Federal Drug Administration) regulates human foods and cosmetics," the undersecretary said.

He also emphasized the strengthened rule in banning ruminant feed to minimize BSE risks.

Based on targeted BSE surveillance testing conducted since 1990, "we can definitively say that the incidence of BSE in the United States is extremely low," he said.

On a recent suspected case of vCJD, Raymond cited preliminary results just handed over to him by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that the autopsy indicates the patient did not die of that disease.

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