Japan Receives “Controlled Risk” Status from OIE
Japan Receives “Controlled Risk” Status from OIE
Japan was designated yesterday as a “Controlled Risk” nation for BSE by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the same status that the United States received two years ago.
The “Controlled Risk” status means that measures taken by Japan to control BSE are effective and that Japanese beef from cattle of any age can be safely traded.
The OIE’s ruling regarding Japan was approved unanimously, along with a similar ruling regarding Colombia’s beef industry. Chile was approved as a “Negligible Risk” country – the lowest level of risk assigned by the OIE.
While Japan’s government has discontinued funding for testing all cattle of all ages for BSE, the individual prefectures have each continued funding the testing. Since the OIE ruling indicates that Japan’s BSE controls are effective, it may lead the prefectures to reconsider the need for BSE tests on all cattle.
Japanese beef producers and the government have expressed interest in exporting Wagyu beef, and it is believed that today’s OIE ruling will expand opportunities for those exports. Similarly, the U.S. beef industry remains hopeful that today’s OIE ruling will lead Japan to revise its import restrictions to match the OIE guidelines and expand access for U.S. beef. Prior to BSE, Japan was the No. 1 market for U.S. beef exports.
“The OIE ruling is a very positive step in that it demonstrates Japan is moving toward and accepting the international standards of the OIE,” said Greg Hanes, USMEF-Japan director. “It also pushes the situation back into the scientific arena, which should help make it a less of a politically-charged issue in Japan.”
Hanes noted that any change to the current requirements is not something that will just be negotiated between the two countries. It must first be submitted to the Japanese Food Safety Commission (FSC) for review. Once the FSC evaluates the risk of any changes to the current system (both for domestic and imported beef), the ministries can implement any approved changes. In addition, Japan’s looming Lower House election, which must be held by September at the latest, has the potential to impact the situation.
Guidelines Revised for Exporting Beef and Pork to Russia, Eligible Plant List Updated for Mexico
The guidelines for completing “FSIS Form 9450-3 for Frozen Pork Meat and Pork By-Products” and “FSIS Form 9450-5 for Beef and Beef By-Products” have been updated. Instead of the date of signature on line 23, it now requires that “Replacement certificates are to be dated with the original date of signature, not the date they are signed” — meaning that the date should match the original certificate’s signature date, not the date of the replacement. See the online FSIS Export Library for details.
The FSIS has also updated the eligible plants list for Mexico.
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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.
Japan Receives “Controlled Risk” Status from OIE
Japan was designated yesterday as a “Controlled Risk” nation for BSE by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the same status that the United States received two years ago.
The “Controlled Risk” status means that measures taken by Japan to control BSE are effective and that Japanese beef from cattle of any age can be safely traded.
The OIE’s ruling regarding Japan was approved unanimously, along with a similar ruling regarding Colombia’s beef industry. Chile was approved as a “Negligible Risk” country – the lowest level of risk assigned by the OIE.
While Japan’s government has discontinued funding for testing all cattle of all ages for BSE, the individual prefectures have each continued funding the testing. Since the OIE ruling indicates that Japan’s BSE controls are effective, it may lead the prefectures to reconsider the need for BSE tests on all cattle.
Japanese beef producers and the government have expressed interest in exporting Wagyu beef, and it is believed that today’s OIE ruling will expand opportunities for those exports. Similarly, the U.S. beef industry remains hopeful that today’s OIE ruling will lead Japan to revise its import restrictions to match the OIE guidelines and expand access for U.S. beef. Prior to BSE, Japan was the No. 1 market for U.S. beef exports.
“The OIE ruling is a very positive step in that it demonstrates Japan is moving toward and accepting the international standards of the OIE,” said Greg Hanes, USMEF-Japan director. “It also pushes the situation back into the scientific arena, which should help make it a less of a politically-charged issue in Japan.”
Hanes noted that any change to the current requirements is not something that will just be negotiated between the two countries. It must first be submitted to the Japanese Food Safety Commission (FSC) for review. Once the FSC evaluates the risk of any changes to the current system (both for domestic and imported beef), the ministries can implement any approved changes. In addition, Japan’s looming Lower House election, which must be held by September at the latest, has the potential to impact the situation.
Guidelines Revised for Exporting Beef and Pork to Russia, Eligible Plant List Updated for Mexico
The guidelines for completing “FSIS Form 9450-3 for Frozen Pork Meat and Pork By-Products” and “FSIS Form 9450-5 for Beef and Beef By-Products” have been updated. Instead of the date of signature on line 23, it now requires that “Replacement certificates are to be dated with the original date of signature, not the date they are signed” — meaning that the date should match the original certificate’s signature date, not the date of the replacement. See the online FSIS Export Library for details.
The FSIS has also updated the eligible plants list for Mexico.
# # #
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.