Japan Quizing U.S. On Discovery of Banned U.S. Beef Products in Hong Kong

Tokyo, March 13 (Jiji Press)–Japan is making inquiries to the U.S. government about the discovery in Hong Kong of U.S. beef containing banned parts, Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Vice Minister Mamoru Ishihara said Monday.

The inquiries are being made through the U.S. embassy in Tokyo and the Japanese consulate-general in Hong Kong, he told reporters.

The beef containing bones was found during an inspection in Hong Kong on Friday. Under a trade agreement between Hong Kong and the United States, only boneless beef from cows of 30 months or younger are allowed to enter from the United States.

The beef was processed at a plant of Swift Beef Co. in Greeley, Colorado. The plant is one of the beef-processing facilities allowed to export to Japan.

In December, the plant was inspected by Japanese government officials and was certified for exports to Japan.

The discovery prompted the Hong Kong government to ban Swift Beef’s beef products.

Japan reinstated its import ban on U.S. beef in January following the discovery of vertebral columns in shipments of veal from a New York meat packer.

The ban is aimed at preventing beef affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, from entering the Japanese market. The United States reported its first case of BSE in December 2003.END