US mad cow pull-back won't affect Japan beef move
Fri Jul 21, 2006 2:54am ET
By Aya Takada
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's decision on reopening its market to U.S. beef will not be affected by the U.S. decision to reduce its mad cow testing program, although Tokyo still wants Washington not to do so, Agriculture Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said on Friday.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said on Thursday the United States would scale down its mad cow surveillance program by 90 percent to reflect a smaller presence of the disease in the country.
The move came despite a warning from Japan that Japanese consumers, already wary of eating U.S. beef due to mad cow fears, will become even more concerned if the United States goes ahead with a plan to cut back on its mad cow testing.
"It will not have a direct impact on our procedures," Nakagawa told reporters when asked if the U.S. reduction of mad cow testing would affect Japan's decision on U.S. beef imports.
Japan is expected to lift a ban on U.S. beef as early as next week, in line with a June agreement between the two governments that U.S. beef shipments to Japan would restart after Japan inspects U.S. beef processing plants to confirm they operate in compliance with Japan's safety requirements.
Japanese inspectors have been in the United States since June 24, checking each of the 35 U.S. beef processing plants authorized by the U.S. government as suppliers to Japan. They are set to end their mission later on Friday after meeting with U.S. government officials.
The inspectors will compile a report on their audit of the U.S. plants after they return to Japan on Sunday. The government will use the report as a basis for its final decision on lifting the ban on imports of U.S. beef.
