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U.S., Japan and BSE: A breakthrough
By Richard Hanson
DTN Tokyo Correspondent
TOKYO (DTN)--United States officials stunned their Japanese counterparts by revealing for the first time they have developed a method to calculate and verify the age of cows in the U.S.--a development that might pave the way for an agreement that would get American beef back into Japan.
In another surprising revelation, a confidential U.S. Department of Agriculture memo said a plan is in the works in which USDA agrees to test cattle less than 24 months old to be shipped to Japan, which abandons its rigid stance against testing cattle less than 30 months old, a cut-off age widely accepted by beef producers and consumers.
In the memo, dated Aug. 31, USDA officials said this agreement "is intended to show sensitivity to Japan's particular situation and reflect out efforts to find a solution (to) this difficult problem.
"We still strongly argue that 30 months is the appropriate cut-off age for testing for both scientific and practical reasons. The preponderance of scientific evidence clearly points to 30 months as the appropriate cut-off for testing."
The method the U.S. will use to determine if cows are indeed less than 24 months old involves measuring rises in the amount of calcium in the bones of cattle, called bone ossification, with electronic sensors.
Though it can tell if a cow is younger than 24 months of age, the U.S. method cannot determine "with any acceptable degree of reliability" exactly how many months old the cow actually is. Other methods of estimating age in the U.S. are limited because of poor record keeping and the absence of an animal identification system.
But that might be a moot point, Japanese scientist said, because most of the beef exported from the U.S. is mostly between 18 and 24 months old--younger than the average of domestic Japanese beef.
Though USDA wants to test 24-month-old cows, bureaucratic objections are bound to surface. That will no doubt occupy U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture J.B. Penn as he tries to continue a series of bilateral talks between the U.S. and Japan that started in April.
At the time, the goal was to clear the way for an agreement in August, but the third and final meeting ended in July without resolving a number of key issues, such as an appropriate policy on testing cattle for slaughter and human consumption.
USDA is focused now on settling the issue in October when a number of domestic decisions on BSE will be clearer. Recent statements have been positive that U.S. beef will be on Japanese tables soon.
There appears to be plenty of support at the highest rungs of government, notably Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has a strong relationship with President George W. Bush. Earlier this year, Bush mentioned his concern about the U.S. beef situation at the annual G7 summit of industrial countries.
On Sept. 7, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, Hiroyuki Hosoda, said Koizumi and Bush are expected to discuss Japan's ban of U.S. beef during a meeting in New York while attending the annual session of the UN General Assembly Sept. 21.
Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei said Sept. 7 his ministry's intention is to study the possibility of easing existing tests on all cows for bovine spongiform encephalopahty, a move that would pave the way for Japan to lift its ban on U.S. beef imports.
Officials at Japan's Agriculture Ministry and Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will consider a review of the existing system once a government commission on food safety compiles a final report, Kamei said.
On Sept. 6, a panel of the Cabinet Office's Food Safety Commission drew up an interim report that said the government will exempt cows aged 20 months or younger from the tests for BSE.
The Health Minister, Chikara Sakaguchi, said consumer groups remain the strongest opponents of relaxing the "test-all" laws that were passed at a time when consumers were enraged by the negligence of the government regarding BSE.
The biggest threat is probably from a newly influential main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, which will be looking for opportunities to block the prime minister's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The opposition party leader, Katsuya Okada, will be prepared to milk the problems of mad cow, especially among the rural farm communities where anti-foreign beef sentiment is high.
Date: 9/22/04
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