Japan, U.S. to review procedures for beef imports from U.S. in March

US - Japan and the United States are expected to reassess Tokyo's import procedures for U.S. beef in March, including the practice of inspecting all boxes of imports over fears of mad cow disease, government officials said Wednesday.

25 January 2007

1 minute read

North America

The two governments have been inspecting imports of American beef since Japan's removal of an import ban last July as well as operations at meat-processing plants in the United States.

Japan has so far found no structural problems at U.S. plants and will complete all inspections in February, according to officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns met Japanese farm minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka in Washington on Jan. 11 and urged Japan to ease terms for beef imports from the United States.

But Matsuoka maintained that Japan needs to continue assessing the effects of resumed American beef imports.

Japan banned imports of U.S. beef after the first U.S. case of mad-cow disease was discovered in December 2003. ADVERTISEMENT

Source: Yahoo Asia News