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Washington, Tokyo agree on new inspections for U.S. beef exportTOKYO (AP)--The United States has agreed to let Japanese officials inspect American meatpacking plants, a step that could ease restrictions on U.S. beef imports, Japanese officials said April 24. Citing concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Japan tightly controls U.S. beef imports, allowing cuts only from cattle 20 months old or younger. Inspectors in Japan check every shipment for bone or spinal material, banned because they are believed to have a higher risk of carrying the illness. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns and his Japanese counterpart agreed in a phone call that inspectors in Japan would be allowed to certify the safety of selected American plants exporting to their country, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasushisa Shiozaki. If the facilities pass inspections, Japanese authorities will no longer check every shipment, an Agriculture Ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. It was unclear when the U.S. facility inspections would begin, but they are widely expected to start later this year. "This will be favorable to both Japan and the U.S.," Shiozaki said of the development. The agreement comes just a week before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's first trip as premier to the United States, where the beef trade row was expected to loom large. The latest deal may help smooth talks on the issue. A group of two dozen U.S. senators is urging U.S. President George W. Bush to press Abe to immediately resume full U.S. beef imports. Japan banned American beef imports in December 2003 after the United States' first reported case of BSE . The ban was eased in December 2005, but tightened again the next month after prohibited spinal bones were found in a veal shipment. Tokyo eased the restrictions again in last July year, but still allows only meat from cows age 20 months or younger. Before the ban, Japan had been the top destination for U.S. beef, importing $1.4 billion (euro1 billion) worth a year. Eating meat contaminated with BSE is linked to human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a rare but deadly nerve disorder. B 11 4/30/07 1 Star WK Date: 4/26/07
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