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Nebraska senator calls for improvement of beef shipment oversigOMAHA, Neb. (AP)--U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska wants more oversight of federal beef inspectors and beef exports after yet another blunder revealed in early September. Nelson, a Democrat, said Sept. 5 he plans to send a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns asking for improved oversight. Johanns is a former Republican governor of Nebraska. On Sept. 4, South Korea said it will revoke import approval for a Nebraska beef processing plant. South Korean officials said rib bones were found in a recent shipment to the Asian country. The bones are banned because of fears about bovine spongiform encephalopathy. It is the second time in as many months that South Korea has reported banned parts in beef shipments from the United States. The second faulty shipment was announced less than two weeks after the country restarted inspections of U.S. beef imports. "I can't imagine that these errors continue to be made," Nelson said Sept. 5 during a conference call with reporters. Food safety is not at issue, Nelson said. "It's a compliance issue," he said. "It doesn't help our reputation when we can't get it right. It undermines our credibility." The South Korean order affected the JBS Swift plant in Grand Island. Swift will serve South Korean customers with meat processed at its plants in Utah and Texas while it works with federal regulators and a trade association to resolve the issues, company officials have said. The Grand Island plant, which had been suspended from shipping meat bound for South Korea on July 31 for a similar violation, has now been barred from exporting to South Korea. The latest shipment had been sent July 29, two days before the suspension. South Korea was once the third-largest foreign market for American beef. But it banned U.S. imports of beef after BSE was discovered in a Washington state cow in late 2003. It partially reopened its market last year, but agreed to accept only boneless meat from cattle under 30 months old. Such meat is thought to be less at risk of carrying the disease. Date: 9/28/07
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