USDA concludes second BSE meeting with Japan

USDA concludes second BSE meeting with Japan    The U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded its second of three meetings with the Japanese government Wednesday regarding its progress to identify and monitor the American cattle herd for outbreaks of bovine spongiform encaphalopathy (BSE).
   The meeting was held at Fort Collins, Colo. “Our tours of a slaughter facility, feed lot and feed mill were important opportunities for the Japanese members of the working group to witness the implementation of U.S. BSE safeguards, our rigorous enforcement of these safeguards and the compliance by industry,” said Peter Fernandez of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in a statement.
   Japan closed its market to U.S. beef imports Dec. 23 after a Washington state cow was identified by the USDA as having the brain-wasting disease. Humans can contract the disease by consuming infected beef.
   Since then, USDA has tried to reopen the Japanese market to U.S. beef producers. Unlike Japan, the USDA does not test the entire domestic herd for the disease, but has stepped up random and targeted testing this year.
   “We look forward to our meeting in Japan next month, where we will finalize our technical report that will serve as the basis for the discussions between our governments to establish the terms by which beef trade will resume,” Fernandez said.
   Late Wednesday, the USDA said a second cow suspected of having BSE tested negative. The agency declined to identify the source of suspect cows.