BSE risk material found in beef imported from U.S.+

TOKYO, Oct. 10 Kyodo -
Japan's farm ministry suspended imports from a beef processor in Nebraska on
Saturday after confirming that a cow backbone, designated as a risk material
for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, was contained in a shipment of chilled
beef imported from the company.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it has requested that
the U.S. Department of Agriculture investigate the details of the incident.
The beef in question was shipped from the Lexington factory of Tyson Fresh
Meats Inc.
''It's extremely regrettable,'' said farm minister Hirotaka Akamatsu at Narita
airport after returning from a trip to the United States.
''We need to study whether it was a careless mistake or a systemic problem,''
the minister said.
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan promised in its manifesto for the general
election in August to ''take immediate measures such as introducing a blanket
ban on U.S. beef imports in the event that a violation of rules concerning beef
imports is found.''
But Akamatsu was negative about imposing a total ban, saying, ''We said 'such
as a blanket ban.'''
The beef, imported by a meat wholesaler in Tokyo's Minato Ward in September,
has not been distributed to the market, according to the farm ministry.
Imports of risk materials such as brain and backbone are banned as they are
likely to contain the causative agent of BSE, or mad cow disease.
It is the third case in which a specified risk material has been found in a
U.S. beef shipment since Japan resumed beef imports from the United States in
the summer of 2006 on condition that they do not contain such risk materials,
the meat is from cows aged 20 months or younger and the shipments are
accompanied by sanitary certificates issued by the U.S. government.
==Kyodo
2009-10-10 22:25:27