Japanese Panel Rules U.S. Beef Safe Enough, Paves Way for Easing of Import Ban

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press Writer
October 31, 2005
The Associated Press

Excerpt...

TOKYO -- Japan took a step toward resuming imports of American beef Monday when a government panel ruled the risk of mad cow infection in U.S. beef is extremely low if proper precautions are taken.

The panel forwarded its report to the full Food Safety Commission, which is expected to consider it on Wednesday.

Japan banned U.S. beef in December 2003 after the discovery of the first U.S. case of the bovine illness. At the time, Japan was the most lucrative overseas market for U.S. beef, and an increasingly impatient Washington has pushed hard for a resumption of the trade. Last week, 21 U.S. senators introduced legislation that would force President Bush to impose tariffs on Japan if it does not lift the ban.

"Based on the assumption that all precautions are taken as requested, we consider the difference in risk between U.S. and Japanese beef to be extremely small," panel chairman Yasuhiro Yoshikawa said, reading the report to his colleagues.

Media reports say the decision will lead to a resumption of imports of beef products from U.S. cows younger than 21 months old as early as the end of this year. No case of mad cow has ever been discovered in animals of that age…

…Approval by the Food Safety Commission will not automatically lift the ban, however. First, the health and agriculture ministries will hold a month of public hearings on beef safety before the government will make a decision.

Japan has tested every domestic cow for the disease since its first case in 2002, and initially demanded that the United States do the same. Japan has found 20 domestic cases of the disease so far.

U.S. authorities, however, balked at the cost of testing the huge American herd and argued that it was not scientifically necessary.

Low-cost beef-and-rice restaurants in Japan have pushed for a lifting of the ban, but finicky Japanese consumers remain deeply wary of American beef, with recent polls showing that nearly 70 percent opposed lifting the ban.