Burns Concerned Japan Holding U. S. Beef Imports

BURNS CONCERNED JAPAN HOLDING U.S. BEEF IMPORTS

USDA Takes Swift Action, Product was not Specified Risk Material

U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) expressed concern over today's news that Japan has decided to suspend all U.S. beef imports after discovering that prohibited bone-in beef products were shipped to Japan. Japan recently ended its beef embargo, allowing exports of U.S. boneless beef and beef products from cattle 20 months of age or less.

Senator Burns said, "I have spoken this morning with both Secretary Johanns and Japanese Ambassador Ryozo Kato, and I am confident that, working together, we can work through this. The important point to stress here is that there is no food safety issue. The product that went to Japan included some vertebral column in it, which violates our agreement with Japan, but it is not what we call a "specified risk material" -- a part of the animal that could carry the BSE prion. While there is no threat to food safety, this incident is still unacceptable, and I am pleased that USDA has taken swift action to remedy these flaws, including immediately de-listing the New York firm that approved this product for export. This was an isolated case of one packer sending a bone-in product to Japan. I urge Japan not to overreact and take the unnecessary action of shutting down beef trade. At no time did this product pose a risk to Japanese customers."

Japan announced in December 2005 it would end a two-year-old embargo on U.S. beef imports, but required suppliers to verify that the product is from cattle less than 20 months old. U.S. beef exports to Japan, before the moratorium, were worth more than $1.7 billion a year. Japan closed its borders in 2003 following the discovery of a case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a Canadian-born cow in Washington state.

http://burns.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=1492&Month=1&Year=2006