Quarantined U.S. beef to enter market
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday endorsed a government plan to start releasing 910 tons of U.S. beef held in customs since the January import ban was imposed, LDP officials said.
25 October 2006
1 minute read
The beef was in customs at several ports of entry when Tokyo imposed a total import ban on U.S. beef in January. The ban was lifted in July, but the frozen beef continued to be held in storage.
The decision to endorse the release was made by an LDP committee specializing in issues related to mad cow disease disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
The release has been delayed because the LDP insisted the government first wait three months from the import resumption date to ensure there was no major problem with U.S. beef coming into the country.
Since the ban was lifted in July, about 2,500 tons of American beef has entered the Japanese market.
Source: japantimes.co.jp
