Japan ...
Japan
U.S.-Japan Technical Working Group Has First Meeting
Dr. Peter Fernandez, the chairman of the U.S. BSE Technical Working Group released the following statement after the first meeting of the group with its Japanese counterpart:
This first meeting of the U.S./Japan BSE Technical Working Group was an important first step in restoring beef trade between our two countries. Over the past two days, we and our Japanese counterparts have engaged in a frank and open dialogue on our respective BSE surveillance and control systems.
We had the opportunity yesterday to visit a modern, well-run slaughter facility in Gunma prefecture. This was a valuable opportunity for our team to see firsthand the SRM removal and testing procedures that Japan has implemented. This visit was followed by a day and half of meetings in which we were able to openly discuss the areas of main importance, including the definition of BSE, SRMs, surveillance, feed bans and country risk categorization. We found many areas where we are in agreement, and some areas where further discussion is needed. This meeting has been very productive and provided a good start to this process. We look forward to continuing our discussions next month when we host the next meeting in the United States.
Under an agreement, detailed in a joint English and Japanese press release issued April 24 in Tokyo (http://www.usda.gov/Newsroom/0165.04.html), the U.S. and Japan will “actively engage in consultations, including a working group…over the period of this summer. At the same time, the two sides will respectively pursue domestic discussions and make efforts so as to reach a final conclusion by sometime around summer on the resumption of the importation of both American and Japanese beef.”
The agreement established the technical working group, composed of technical experts from both sides, chaired by APHIS’s Dr. Fernandez, which will meet monthly to discuss six technical issues:
1) Definition of BSE and method of testing;
2) Definition of specified risk materials and the method of removal;
3) Appropriate surveillance;
4) Appropriate feed ban implementation;
5) Cattle month-age identification; and
6) Other issues.
More details of the accord are in a USMEF news release, which is available online.
Japan
U.S.-Japan Technical Working Group Has First Meeting
Dr. Peter Fernandez, the chairman of the U.S. BSE Technical Working Group released the following statement after the first meeting of the group with its Japanese counterpart:
This first meeting of the U.S./Japan BSE Technical Working Group was an important first step in restoring beef trade between our two countries. Over the past two days, we and our Japanese counterparts have engaged in a frank and open dialogue on our respective BSE surveillance and control systems.
We had the opportunity yesterday to visit a modern, well-run slaughter facility in Gunma prefecture. This was a valuable opportunity for our team to see firsthand the SRM removal and testing procedures that Japan has implemented. This visit was followed by a day and half of meetings in which we were able to openly discuss the areas of main importance, including the definition of BSE, SRMs, surveillance, feed bans and country risk categorization. We found many areas where we are in agreement, and some areas where further discussion is needed. This meeting has been very productive and provided a good start to this process. We look forward to continuing our discussions next month when we host the next meeting in the United States.
Under an agreement, detailed in a joint English and Japanese press release issued April 24 in Tokyo (http://www.usda.gov/Newsroom/0165.04.html), the U.S. and Japan will “actively engage in consultations, including a working group…over the period of this summer. At the same time, the two sides will respectively pursue domestic discussions and make efforts so as to reach a final conclusion by sometime around summer on the resumption of the importation of both American and Japanese beef.”
The agreement established the technical working group, composed of technical experts from both sides, chaired by APHIS’s Dr. Fernandez, which will meet monthly to discuss six technical issues:
1) Definition of BSE and method of testing;
2) Definition of specified risk materials and the method of removal;
3) Appropriate surveillance;
4) Appropriate feed ban implementation;
5) Cattle month-age identification; and
6) Other issues.
More details of the accord are in a USMEF news release, which is available online.