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Johanns: No Need for Lengthy Delay on Re-opening Japan's Beef Market
Just a day after six members of Japan's food safety panel resigned and were replaced - media reports in Japan suggested a decision to re-open that country's market to U.S. beef might not come until 2007.
U.S. Ag Secretary Mike Johanns responded immediately - saying there's no scientific reason for such a lengthy delay - and that the U.S. Congress might not stand for it. Indeed - Johanns says the U.S. beef industry is ready to export product to Japan right now.
And Johanns continues to emphasize the U.S. is complying with international standards when it comes to Japanese beef - despite two-dozen cases of BSE in Japan. And he's literally promising the U.S. won't close its borders to Japanese beef - as long as it complies with those international standards.
Japan again closed its market to U.S. beef on January 20th - just weeks after ending a previous ban that lasted two years. The most recent ban - which Japan calls a temporary suspension - came after a New York beef packer accidentally sent a shipment of bone-in veal to Japan. While the shipment met U.S. and international standards - it violated the carefully orchestrated deal that re-opened the Japanese market in December.
Just a day after six members of Japan's food safety panel resigned and were replaced - media reports in Japan suggested a decision to re-open that country's market to U.S. beef might not come until 2007.
U.S. Ag Secretary Mike Johanns responded immediately - saying there's no scientific reason for such a lengthy delay - and that the U.S. Congress might not stand for it. Indeed - Johanns says the U.S. beef industry is ready to export product to Japan right now.
And Johanns continues to emphasize the U.S. is complying with international standards when it comes to Japanese beef - despite two-dozen cases of BSE in Japan. And he's literally promising the U.S. won't close its borders to Japanese beef - as long as it complies with those international standards.
Japan again closed its market to U.S. beef on January 20th - just weeks after ending a previous ban that lasted two years. The most recent ban - which Japan calls a temporary suspension - came after a New York beef packer accidentally sent a shipment of bone-in veal to Japan. While the shipment met U.S. and international standards - it violated the carefully orchestrated deal that re-opened the Japanese market in December.