TOKYO - Japanese beef traders voiced worries on Monday that news of contaminated U.S. beef might cut consumption of imported beef in Japan, where there is already concern after an outbreak of food poisoning last year.
"The string of news about tainted U.S. beef could seriously damage sales of imported beef, although these reports have not had an impact on the domestic market yet," a trader at a major trading house said.
Japan is the largest export market for the U.S. beef industry.
The Japanese government said on Monday it was not considering any measures to suspend U.S. beef imports after news on Friday that Beef America Co of Norfolk, Nebraska, was recalling 443,656 pounds of ground beef due to bacterial contamination.
"We have tested imported beef, but we have not yet detected any bacteria from beef imported from the U.S.," a Japanese Health Ministry official said.
"We will continue to gather information on the matter and will take appropriate measures if necessary, although the results of the tests so far have not justified the need for any steps," the official said.
Beef industry sources said Japan imports only prime cut beef from the Beef America Co and does not import ground beef from the company, adding that the volume of beef imports from the company is relatively small.
Last week a South Korean meat purchasing agent recommended a ban on beef from Nebraska after Seoul's Agriculture Ministry detected the E.Coli bacteria in an 18.18 tonne beef shipment from a plant owned by IBP Inc (IBP) in Dakota City, Nebraska.
Japan's cumulative imports of beef in the first eight months of 1997 totalled 417,480 tonnes, compared with 459,550 tonnes the same period a year earlier, according to the latest Finance Ministry data.
In the eight-month period, imports from the U.S totalled 192,536 tonnes, the data showed.
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