Japan halts U.S. beef imports

Japan halts U.S. beef imports    Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said today that Japan would halt all imports of U.S. beef, after a recent shipment was found to possibly be at risk for mad cow disease, the Associated Press reported.
   Koizumi said he received the agriculture minister’s report over the phone, which recommended that the imports be halted, the AP said.
   U.S. officials had only recently hammered out a deal after two years of tough negotiations to allow U.S. beef products back into Japan.
   Japan, like numerous other countries, stopped accepting U.S. beef shipments in late December 2003 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that a Washington state cow was infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or “mad cow” disease. Humans may contract a form of the brain-wasting disease by consuming infected beef.
   Since then, the USDA has devised numerous measures such as cattle identification and random testing, to assure overseas consumers that U.S.-raised beef is safe. The Japanese government has been one of the toughest critics of the U.S. beef management system.
   The U.S. Embassy Friday issued a statement expressing deep regret for the recent incident and anticipated the USDA conducting an investigation.
   Koizumi said he directed Japan’s agriculture and health ministers to talk with their U.S. counterparts to put measures into place that would guarantee the safety of beef sent to Japan, the AP reported.
   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.
   Japan’s announcement came one day after word that Singapore will resume the import of U.S. boneless beef imports from animals under 30 months of age through an agreement reached with the United States Thursday.
   “This decision adds momentum to our goal of resuming normal beef trade throughout the world that follows science-based international guidelines in food and animal safety,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns in a statement. “We will continue to pursue this objective with all our trading partners.”
   U.S. beef trade was also recently restored with Hong Kong and South Korea.
   In 2003, the United States exported $5.9 million of beef products to Singapore, with boneless beef exports approaching $4 million.
   After the 2003 BSE announcement, $4.8 billion worth of U.S. beef exports were banned on the global market. Markets accounting for $3.8 billion have since been recovered, the USDA said.