BSE                                     ...

BSE                                                                                                

No Progress In Talks With Japan

According to press reports, today’s (January 23) talks between U.S. and Japanese officials did not include new proposals from either side, and there is no end in sight to Japan's suspension of imports of U.S. beef.

U.S. officials were in Tokyo to explain U.S. measures to ensure the safety of U.S. beef and to persuade the Japanese government to lift the ban.

According to Reuters, Japanese officials reiterated that the United States must implement safeguards that match its own, such as testing all cattle slaughtered for consumption for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), but the United States repeated that it saw no need for BSE tests on all cattle.

USDA Undersecretary J B Penn told a news conference the two countries planned to meet again next month, but details have yet to be worked out. The issue of beef left in ports due to the ban was not raised.

A Japanese fact-finding team back from North America issued a report this week saying there was no guarantee other cases of mad cow disease would not be discovered in the United States.

Three herdmates of the only U.S. BSE case were identified in Idaho, the USDA announced January 23. An earlier animal was located in an Oregon dairy herd.

The USDA has killed about 620 cattle in three Washington herds as an extra precaution. So far, the animals have tested negative for the disease.

BSE                                                                                                

No Progress In Talks With Japan

According to press reports, today’s (January 23) talks between U.S. and Japanese officials did not include new proposals from either side, and there is no end in sight to Japan's suspension of imports of U.S. beef.

U.S. officials were in Tokyo to explain U.S. measures to ensure the safety of U.S. beef and to persuade the Japanese government to lift the ban.

According to Reuters, Japanese officials reiterated that the United States must implement safeguards that match its own, such as testing all cattle slaughtered for consumption for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), but the United States repeated that it saw no need for BSE tests on all cattle.

USDA Undersecretary J B Penn told a news conference the two countries planned to meet again next month, but details have yet to be worked out. The issue of beef left in ports due to the ban was not raised.

A Japanese fact-finding team back from North America issued a report this week saying there was no guarantee other cases of mad cow disease would not be discovered in the United States.

Three herdmates of the only U.S. BSE case were identified in Idaho, the USDA announced January 23. An earlier animal was located in an Oregon dairy herd.

The USDA has killed about 620 cattle in three Washington herds as an extra precaution. So far, the animals have tested negative for the disease.