Japan | Audit Of U.S. Beef Plants Underway | Japanese officials have started...

Japan

Audit Of U.S. Beef Plants Underway

Japanese officials have started a two-week audit of U.S. meatpacking plants exporting beef to Japan to evaluate compliance with the USDA Export Verification (EV) program for Japan. Three inspection teams will audit 28 meatpacking plants in 14 states on a tour that is scheduled to end May 28.

During the first day of the audit, teams wanted to see how plants manage offal for A40-graded cattle in addition to how plants label and seal shipping boxes and ensure what is packaged on a shipping pallet is eligible for export to Japan.

USMEF encourages plants included in the audit to have requested documents readily available for audit team members to review in efforts to reduce inspection time. Plants should also have information available regarding any corrective actions taken previously identified as continuous improvement points relative to the EV program for Japan and quality manual pages tagged specifically identifying changes made.

Once a successful audit is complete, it is anticipated Japan will remove the 100-percent box inspection policy that U.S. beef shipments currently undergo. USMEF forecasts a doubling of U.S. beef exports compared to the current level since the 100-percent inspection policy has limited the pace of U.S. beef exports to Japan.

Japan

Audit Of U.S. Beef Plants Underway

Japanese officials have started a two-week audit of U.S. meatpacking plants exporting beef to Japan to evaluate compliance with the USDA Export Verification (EV) program for Japan. Three inspection teams will audit 28 meatpacking plants in 14 states on a tour that is scheduled to end May 28.

During the first day of the audit, teams wanted to see how plants manage offal for A40-graded cattle in addition to how plants label and seal shipping boxes and ensure what is packaged on a shipping pallet is eligible for export to Japan.

USMEF encourages plants included in the audit to have requested documents readily available for audit team members to review in efforts to reduce inspection time. Plants should also have information available regarding any corrective actions taken previously identified as continuous improvement points relative to the EV program for Japan and quality manual pages tagged specifically identifying changes made.

Once a successful audit is complete, it is anticipated Japan will remove the 100-percent box inspection policy that U.S. beef shipments currently undergo. USMEF forecasts a doubling of U.S. beef exports compared to the current level since the 100-percent inspection policy has limited the pace of U.S. beef exports to Japan.