Japan finds banned US beef in ham, turkey shipment

By Christopher Doering

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – Japan rejected a box of U.S. roast
beef that was mistakenly included in a shipment of pork and
turkey, a “minor incident” that should not interfere with
resumption of beef exports to Tokyo, the U.S. Agriculture
Department said on Friday.

Japan has banned U.S. beef for 30 of the last 31 months due
to fear of mad cow disease. It reopened trade at the end of
2005 after a two-year ban but shut its borders again after
finding prohibited spinal matter in a shipment of veal.

A single 15-pound (7 kg) box of sliced roast beef was
discovered on July 11 in a larger shipment that contained about
1,223 cases, or 22,000 lbs (10,000 kg), of frozen sliced turkey
breast and frozen sliced ham.

Japan rejected only the 15-pound (7 kg) beef package. A
USDA spokesman said the incident showed Japan would not cut off
trade because of minor problems.

“This is not a food safety issue and is being handled
appropriately by the rejection of that ineligible product,
which indicates that the system is indeed working as it
should,” said Ed Loyd, U.S. Department of Agriculture
spokesman.

Japan agreed in June on steps that will lead to resumption
of beef trade, beginning with audits of three dozen U.S. beef
export plants by Japanese officials set to be completed next
week. Trade could resume soon afterward.

When the agreement was announced, USDA Secretary Mike
Johanns said Tokyo would reject individual shipments rather
than cutting off trade altogether.

USDA said the roast beef was properly packaged and labeled,
but added that errors can occur when a large volume of trade
takes place.

“This is a minor incident and we do not expect this to
affect the ongoing beef market reopening process with Japan,
nor the timing, in any way,” Loyd added. New York.

In 2003, Japan imported an estimated $1.4 billion of U.S.
beef.