031262 Gov't Seeks Early End to U.S. Beef Ban

The government has already discussed conditions required to lift the ban on imports of U.S. beef, just days after the first suspected case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was found in the United States, the world's largest beef-producing nation. A report of the first U.S. case of so-called mad cow disease drew reaction from around the world because of the size of the country's beef industry.

The United States became the 23rd country from which Japan has banned beef imports due to confirmed or suspected cases of BSE.

The difference in the latest case is that the government already has begun discussing conditions under which imports can be resumed, only days after the ban was put in place.

The government asked Canada to conduct BSE tests on all cattle--similar to the measures taken in Japan- -as a condition for lifting a beef import ban after the country discovered its first case of BSE in May.

"We have to take the same stance against the United States as we did against Canada," Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei said Wednesday morning. The minister's strong remark, however, was toned down later in the day when Hiroshi Nakagawa, chief of the ministry's Food, Safety and Consumer Affairs Bureau, said, "We'll ask the United States to take every possible measure to secure safety and to assuage consumer concerns as a condition for the lifting the import ban."

What drove the ministry to tone down its response was the significant size of U.S. beef exports to Japan and other markets around the world.

Last year, U.S. beef exports to Japan stood at about 220,000 tons and accounted for about 47% of the nation's total beef imports and 30% of domestic consumption.

The United States produces 24% of the world's beef and is the largest producer. In contrast, Canadian beef comprised just 4% of Japan's total beef imports.

While 4.5 million cows are raised in Japan, there are 96 million in the United States, with 35 million slaughtered every year for food.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry doubts the Japanese demand to examine all the cows will be accepted easily by the United States.

In member nations of the European Union, BSE monitoring basically covers cows aged over 30 months, which are considered to be the animals at greatest risk from the disease. Japan is the only nation in the world that requires all cows to be screened.

The government should have clarified general conditions for lifting import bans before the first BSE- infected cow was found in the United States.

The ministry planned to evaluate the BSE risk in each country based on its import and consumption of meat and bone meal, as well as on its screening system. However, discussions have so far only covered countries where no BSE has been discovered.

"We don't have a way to evaluate BSE risks in countries where BSE-infected cows have already been discovered," a ministry official said.

In the absence of any preparations, the government will have to decide on conditions for lifting the ban through bilateral negotiations with the United States.

If the government decides not to ask the United States to screen all cows, Japanese beef and U.S. beef will have gone through different screening measures, even though both countries now have BSE.

"If imports of U.S. beef are resumed without forcing the United States to test all cows, consumer faith in imported beef will be lost, causing further confusion," Harue Maruta of the Japan Offspring Fund said.

The government began testing all cows in October 2001, one month after the first report of BSE in Japan.

Aside from scientifically securing the safety of beef, the measure was taken to alleviate consumer fears over food safety.

The measure succeeded in assuaging such fears. In addition, the measure succeeded in discovering BSE infection in a 24-month-old cow, which would previously have gone undetected. The government should emphasize the effectiveness of its program to test all cows.

If additional conditions are required, scientifically based rules that guarantee the safety of beef and are valid in all countries in which BSE is reported must be clearly set out. Otherwise, consumer concern over beef will again start to rise.

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