Really, does this surprise anybody anymore?

A pack of beef, imported for the major Japanese restaurant chain Yoshinoya from the Californian plant of National Beef, contained spinal tissue, the agriculture ministry said.

Japan in July 2006 agreed to resume US beef imports on condition the cattle were not more than 20 months old at the time of slaughter, with brains, spinal cords and other risky parts removed.

The illegal shipment was among 700 packs or 17 tonnes of beef imported through Japanese trading company Itochu last August, the ministry said in a statement.

The spinal tissue was discovered on Tuesday at a Yoshinoya meat processing plant in Tokyo’s suburbs.

The meat hasn’t been shipped out for consumption, which is a good thing, but why take the chance over and over? This is the THIRD ban on American-imported beef because of slip-ups like this one. Why keep going back?

Oh wait. What’s that, you say? Pressure from our president? Our president?

Japan, formerly the biggest overseas market for US beef, first banned imports in December 2003 after a cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the brain-wasting condition commonly known as mad cow disease, was discovered in the US state of Washington.

Under US pressure with the threat of trade sanctions, Japan lifted the embargo in December 2005 but slapped it back on a month later after a shipment included a risky part.

Japan has rejected US calls to increase the age limit applied to slaughtered cattle as it believes younger cattle are less likely to have accumulated infectious proteins that could cause BSE.

US President George W. Bush told Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in Washington last November to “fully open” the Japanese market to US beef and beef products.

Shock, horror, etc, etc…

Source: Japan suspends imports from US meat plant: farm ministry - AFP

- Saving the Whales? Or Leftover WWII Resentment?
- It's Been a Crazy Two Months
- Japanese Version of the Office
- Algorithm March...with Ninja!
- Tokyo Cat Cafes (Why Aren't I Working Here Already?)

Foxes | food, health, japan | Thursday, April 24th, 2008 | Trackback