Japan                                    ...

Japan                                                                                            

Failure Of Prion Subcommittee To Reach Consensus On Testing Behind Latest Delay

“The failure of the Prion Subcommittee to reach a consensus on testing for BSE in July is behind the latest delay,” said President & CEO Philip Seng in response to the news that the senior-level meeting between U.S. and Japanese officials on ending the impasse over U.S. beef exports to Japan is not now expected to take place this month. “Back in July, USMEF warned that if the Prion Subcommittee issued its delayed final report in August, it would be followed by a 30-day comment period for the report and another following the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s decision. The Subcommittee’s failure to reach a consensus not only made it almost impossible that the ban would be lifted in 2004, but also fueled the opposition that is now being heard in the Food Safety Commission’s public hearings.”

The U.S. and Japan had informally decided that a meeting at the vice-ministerial level would follow this summer’s three meetings of the experts from both countries in a technical working group set up in April. The meeting seems to have been derailed by the August 18 Food Safety Commission's public hearings in a number of Japanese cities on BSE. Strong opinions were expressed by attendees opposed to backing off on the Japanese government’s insistence on 100-percent testing, even though it had earlier conceded that the removal of specific risk material was a more important part of efforts to safeguard consumers, and “accumulated abnormal prion protein in younger animals” is unlikely to be detected using current Japanese testing methods. Japan’s 100-percent testing costs in excess of $3 billion per year.

“The Prion Subcommittee agreed that testing younger cattle for BSE is meaningless, but consumer groups are reluctant to let go of this unfortunate shibboleth because a public relations campaign in response to Japan’s domestic BSE cases conditioned them to think that testing all animals was the panacea they needed.” added Seng.

Seng was in Japan earlier this week gathering information about the market for both beef and pork, looking at the competition and examining future activities planned by USMEF. He is currently in Beijing attending the China Meat Association convention in his capacity of Immediate Past President of the International Meat Secretariat.

Japan                                                                                            

Failure Of Prion Subcommittee To Reach Consensus On Testing Behind Latest Delay

“The failure of the Prion Subcommittee to reach a consensus on testing for BSE in July is behind the latest delay,” said President & CEO Philip Seng in response to the news that the senior-level meeting between U.S. and Japanese officials on ending the impasse over U.S. beef exports to Japan is not now expected to take place this month. “Back in July, USMEF warned that if the Prion Subcommittee issued its delayed final report in August, it would be followed by a 30-day comment period for the report and another following the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s decision. The Subcommittee’s failure to reach a consensus not only made it almost impossible that the ban would be lifted in 2004, but also fueled the opposition that is now being heard in the Food Safety Commission’s public hearings.”

The U.S. and Japan had informally decided that a meeting at the vice-ministerial level would follow this summer’s three meetings of the experts from both countries in a technical working group set up in April. The meeting seems to have been derailed by the August 18 Food Safety Commission's public hearings in a number of Japanese cities on BSE. Strong opinions were expressed by attendees opposed to backing off on the Japanese government’s insistence on 100-percent testing, even though it had earlier conceded that the removal of specific risk material was a more important part of efforts to safeguard consumers, and “accumulated abnormal prion protein in younger animals” is unlikely to be detected using current Japanese testing methods. Japan’s 100-percent testing costs in excess of $3 billion per year.

“The Prion Subcommittee agreed that testing younger cattle for BSE is meaningless, but consumer groups are reluctant to let go of this unfortunate shibboleth because a public relations campaign in response to Japan’s domestic BSE cases conditioned them to think that testing all animals was the panacea they needed.” added Seng.

Seng was in Japan earlier this week gathering information about the market for both beef and pork, looking at the competition and examining future activities planned by USMEF. He is currently in Beijing attending the China Meat Association convention in his capacity of Immediate Past President of the International Meat Secretariat.