U.S. agriculture officials go back to Japan to attempt re-opening of beef exports

U.S. agriculture officials go back to Japan to attempt re-opening of beef exports    Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture head to Japan Monday, Jan. 19, to attempt to convince the Asian country to re-open its market to American beef.
   Japan is the United States beef industry’s largest export market by value. Japan shut its borders to American beef on Dec. 23, hours after the announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that a cow was diagnosed with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow” disease.
   The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it plans to euthanize and test about 130 cows from the suspect herd in Washington state. The sick cow was linked to case of mad cow in Canada in mid-2003.