MAD COW DISEASE

Japan Panel Recommends Easing Beef Import Rules Japan's food-safety panel on Monday ruled that relaxing domestic cattle testing standards for mad-cow disease won't put consumers at risk, raising the possibility that Tokyo will reopen its lucrative market to U.S. beef imports. The Food Safety Commission found that tests for the fatal bovine illness on cattle aged 20 months or younger were unable to detect the proteins linked to the fatal bovine illness. Scientists believe the proteins associated with mad-cow disease don't accumulate in cows that young. "We have concluded that the risk of excluding cows younger than 21 months old from inspections is negligible or extremely small," said Yasuhiro Yoshikawa, chairman of the panel's scientific experts. The ruling allows Tokyo to begin considering whether to lower restrictions on American beef imports. The health and agriculture ministries will now consider revising food safety standards, which would allow Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration to restart discussions with U.S. officials about resuming American beef imports....
Canadian Farmers Ask Ottawa to Challenge U.S. Ban Canadian ranchers want Ottawa to mount a legal challenge against a U.S. ban on Canadian cattle and consider testing more animals for mad cow disease, the Canadian Cattlemen's Association said on Monday. The lobby group has changed tack to push for measures it previously had shied away from because of worries Canada could lose ground in its 22-month fight to regain access to its biggest market, the United States. "With the March 2 ruling from the judge in Montana, it's definitely changed our whole outlook on things," said Stan Eby, president of the association, who raises cattle near Kincardine, Ontario. Canada used to count on exporting about 1 million live cattle a year to U.S. feedlots and slaughter plants, along with about 70 percent of its processed beef exports. Canadian ranchers want Ottawa to begin a challenge of the U.S. ban under the North American Free Trade Agreement or World Trade Organization rules. Ottawa has not ruled out a challenge, but still wants to try to resolve the issue bilaterally, because a formal trade challenge could take years to work through, a spokeswoman for Agriculture Minister Andy Mitchell said....
Taiwanese move on US beef bad for NZ The golden run for beef exporters could be drawing to an end after Taiwan's decision to lift its ban on United States beef on April 16. If Japan and Korea follow suit, the effect could be disastrous for beef exporters already struggling to cope with the high kiwi dollar. Strong commodity prices for beef and lamb have so far buffered exporters from the effects of the rising currency. But global beef markets have been distorted by the ban on US product. Beef exports to Taiwan were worth $174 million last year, up 44 per cent on the year to September 2003. A single case of mad cow disease (BSE) in December 2003 prompted the Asian ban on US beef and Asia turned to New Zealand and Australia to fill the gap. New Zealand beef exports to Japan in the year to September 2004 were up 96 per cent by volume and 124 per cent by value....
Japan's 16th case of mad cow disease confirmed A 9-year-old slaughtered cow was confirmed Sunday as having been infected with mad cow disease — Japan's 16th case, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said. A ministerial experts panel confirmed the infection of the cow, born March 23, 1996, in Hokkaido. The cow was being inspected after being suspected of infection in a preliminary BSE test at a local examination center Thursday.

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