bse

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

U.S. safety measures on beef doubted

U.S. BSE measures are more questionable after the U.S. Department of Agriculture on June 29 announced that the cow that had been found to be BSE-infected on June 24 was born and bred in Texas.

This 12-year-old cow was tested BSE-negative in November 2004 by the U.S. method. But seven months later, it was BSE-positive in Britain by the same method that is used in Japan.

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Takahashi Chizuko, who participated in a Japanese parliamentarian investigative team which visited the United States June 20-27, commented as follows:

"It has become clearer that the U.S. measures against BSE have missed BSE-infections. They cannot be accepted internationally. In the United States, I pointed out that not all of the 400,000 downer cows (cows that have difficulty walking) have been BSE-tested. The U.S. Department of Agriculture admitted that it does not carry out across-the-board testing, and flatly stated that the test is not for food safety.

"The U.S. test is lax in its precision and far from strict concerning the ban on bone-meal feed. Because there isn't a cattle identification system in the United States, it takes much time to confirm the age of the cow. The U.S. government hasn't even disclosed whether the cow was for meat or for milking.

"At a meeting with us, a U.S. government official displayed his confidence by stating that even if this cow is BSE-positive, it won't be an obstacle for Japan to resume U.S. beef imports. Behind this is the Japan-U.S. agreement last October that even if some BSE-infected cows are found in the United States, it won't affect the resumption of U.S. beef imports. Now that U.S. BSE inspection system and safety measures are in question, the Japanese government should stop moving forward with U.S. beef imports." - Akahata, July 1, 2005