|
|
Japan suspends beef imports from U.S. plant
TOKYO (AP)--Japan suspended beef imports from a U.S. meatpacking plant Oct. 17, saying recent shipments from the facility contained tendons that were not properly identified on accompanying papers. Japan banned American beef imports over bovine spongiform encephalopathy fears more than three years ago, but has eased that restriction to allow imported meat from young cattle as long as certain bones and the spinal cord have been removed and the meat has been processed at selected plants. Imports from Cargill Inc.'s plant in Dodge City, Kan., will be suspended because 225 boxes of a recent 9-ton shipment contained tendons that were not properly identified on papers issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Japan's Agriculture Ministry said in a statement Oct. 17. Though the tendons do not pose a BSE risk, Cargill has acknowledged that boxes bound elsewhere may have been erroneously sent to Japan, according to the statement. Cargill spokesman Mark Klein in Minneapolis said the U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking into how the tendons got into the shipment. "We're working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has been investigating this," he said. "That information will be provided to Japanese officials and hopefully the ban will be lifted soon." Shipments from the plant will be banned until Japan receives a detailed report on the mistake, the statement from Japan's Agriculture Ministry said. Japan banned American beef imports in December 2003 after the first case of BSE was found in the U.S. The ban was eased in July 2006. Eating meat products with infected tissue is linked to a rare, fatal illness, variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, that has killed more than 150 people worldwide, most of them in Britain. Date: 10/18/07
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2012. 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 |
|
