|
Japan to ban NE plant's beefTOKYO (AP)--Japan will suspend beef imports from a U.S. processing plant after finding meat in a shipment that may violate a regulation imposed over bovine spongiform encephalopahty concerns, the government said Feb. 16. The Ministries of Health and Agriculture said inspectors at the port of Yokohama found two boxes of rib meat in a shipment sent by U.S. agricultural giant Tyson Food Inc. from its plant in Lexington, Neb., that were not recorded in the accompanying shipping documents. The shipment's importer couldn't confirm that the meat met a government requirement that all beef destined for Japan be from animals age 20 months or younger, the ministries said in a statement. Young animals are believed less likely to be infected with BSE . U.S. officials have told Japan the boxes were erroneously included in the shipment, the statement said. The ministries decided to suspend shipments from the processing plant until Japan can obtain further information from U.S. authorities and the exporter, it said. No banned materials have been found in the shipment, which consisted of about nine metric tons of frozen beef, it said. Calls to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo weren't immediately answered. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters Feb. 16 that the suspension was necessary to ensure food safety. "We need to investigate further," Abe said. Eating meat contaminated with BSE is linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a rare but deadly nerve disorder. B 15 2/26/07 1 Star WK Date: 2/22/07
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2008. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
