Japanese meat industry and consumers divided on BSE testing policy (August 20, 2004) Meatingplace.com; John Gregerson
Japanese consumers and meat industry members remain divided on the effectiveness of current safety measures for BSE — particularly Japan's policy that all cattle entering its food supply be tested for the disease.

 

Japanese consumers, distributors, restaurant operators and bureaucrats all agreed to disagree on that matter at a spirited exchange hosted by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health in Tokyo on Wednesday.
As a result, upcoming talks between Japan and the United States aimed at paving the way for the resumption of beef imports from the U.S. will likely be postponed to September. In the meantime, the ministries plan to hold other sessions on the topic in Hokkaido, Osaka and Kumamato Prefecture.

 

About 200 people participated in the Tokyo session, during which a representative of the grilled-meat industry pointed out that testing all cattle doesn't scientifically ensure safety. His recommendation was to simply eliminate those cuts of meat that pose danger. A consumer supported scrapping Japan's 100 percent test policy, which has kept U.S. beef off Japanese tables since BSE was discovered in Washington last year.

 

But others, including representatives of consumer and retail groups, opposed changing the system, with one participant maintaining that the 100 percent testing policy "ensures a sense of security about beef."