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Japan to inspect U.S. meatpackers exporting beefTOKYO (AP)--Japanese officials will go on a two-week inspection tour of U.S. meatpackers exporting beef to Japan to evaluate their compliance with restrictions Tokyo imposed over Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy concerns, the government said May 11. Three inspection teams will leave May 13 to check on 28 meatpacking plants in 14 states on a tour that wraps up May 28, the Farm and Health ministries said. Currently, all boxes in a shipment are opened for inspection, but shipments from those facilities found to be problem-free will be subjected in the future to only a random sampling of boxes, Kyodo News agency said, citing unidentified government officials. Neither Farm nor Health ministry officials could immediately be reached for comment late May 11. Japan has been skittish about foreign beef since the first case of BSE was found in the United States. Japan banned American beef imports in December 2003. The ban was eased once in December 2005, but tightened again the following month after prohibited spinal bones were found in a veal shipment. Tokyo eased the restrictions again in last July, but allows meat only from cattle ages 20 months or younger. No cases of BSE have ever been found in cattle those ages. A handful of U.S. exporters have been banned from exporting beef to Japan due to various violations of its import conditions. Before the ban on American beef three years ago, Japan had been the top destination for U.S. beef, importing $1.4 billion worth a year. Eating meat contaminated with BSE is linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a rare but deadly nerve disorder. B 19 5/21/07 1 Star WK Date: 5/17/07
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