Japan opens border again to U.S. beef

Japan opens border again to U.S. beef    The Japanese government has agreed to once again lift its ban on U.S. beef imports, according to an Associated Press report.
   Japan, which agreed earlier to lift the ban, halted U.S. beef shipments in late January after a shipment was found to contain impermissible cattle parts. The violation occurred within a month after Japan and the United States reached a deal to restore the U.S. beef trade after a previous two-year ban.
   Japan, like many countries, closed its borders to U.S. beef in December 2003 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow” disease, in a Washington state cow.
   As part of lifting the ban, Japan would only allow U.S. beef from cows up to 20 months of age. The agreement also excluded spines, brains, bone marrow and other parts of the cow thought to be at higher risk of carrying the brain-wasting disease.
   Prior to the ban, the United States exported $1.4 billion in beef to Japan in 2003, making it the U.S. beef industry’s largest overseas market by value.