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U.S. beef clears key hurdle in South KoreaGWACHEON, South Korea (AP)--South Korea's government said April 27 a shipment of U.S. beef that arrived in late April was safe, clearing a key hurdle after an import absence of more than three years due to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy fears. The National Veterinary Research & Quarantine Service made the announcement after inspecting the beef, which arrived April 23. South Korea banned U.S. beef after BSE was discovered in the United States in December 2003. "After thorough quarantine and inspection, no problematic points were found, including bone fragments," said the statement, issued at the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry south of Seoul. The statement also said the government would continue to conduct "thorough inspections" of U.S. beef imports. After arduous negotiations, South Korea agreed last year to resume imports of U.S. beef, but only of boneless meat from cattle younger than 30 months old because of concerns that the brain-wasting disease is more likely to be present in bones and in older animals. The discovery of bone fragments late last year in three separate shipments kept U.S. beef out of South Korean markets and restaurants. The last shipment arrived on Dec. 1 and was rejected both for bone fragments as well as reported trace amounts of dioxin in excess of levels allowed in South Korea. BSE is believed to spread when farmers feed recycled meat and bones from infected animals to cattle. South Korean beef farmers and activist groups have strongly opposed allowing U.S. beef back into the country. South Korea said in heated negotiations last month that it would continue to reject beef containing bones or bone fragments, but agreed to reject only individual boxes containing problem beef, rather than entire shipments. Lee Jong-kyung, president of NERP Corp., the importer of the shipment, said earlier April 27 that he had been told April 26 of the approval. Lee said the beef could be in some restaurants within a week. U.S. Congress members representing beef-producing states had threatened to scuttle a free-trade agreement reached earlier this month between the two countries unless the U.S. regained full access to the South Korean market. According to the U.S. Meat Export Federation, the U.S. exported $813.2 million of beef in 2003 before the ban went into effect, for a market share of about 68 percent. At the time, South Korea was the third-largest market for U.S. beef, after Japan and Mexico. Date: 5/3/07
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