Japan likely to be upgraded to 'controlled BSE risk' status

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TOKYO, May 24 Kyodo -
The World Organization for Animal Health is expected to soon grant Japan status
of controlled risk regarding its safeguard measures taken to eradicate mad cow
disease in beef production, government sources said Sunday.
The Japanese government will try to boost Japanese beef exports after the
Paris-based international organization, known under its acronym OIE in French,
upgrades Japan's status, according to the sources.
Tokyo is also expected to begin considering easing age regulations for testing
meat for mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy,
they said.
The OIE is expected to grant the desired authorization to Japan during its
general session that opened Sunday, the sources said.
If Japan begins to study relaxing the current testing rules, the United States
will likely pressure Japan more to lift its beef import restrictions so that it
can sell more beef to Japan.
At present, Japan requires beef from cattle aged 21 months and older to be
tested for BSE.
The Japanese government will likely have to take care in deciding when to
revamp the testing rules as concerns remain among the Japanese public about
U.S. beef, given that some cow body parts banned by the Japanese import
regulations were found in beef shipments from the United States in the past,
industry watchers said.
Under OIE regulations, there are three risk categories -- negligible BSE risk,
controlled BSE risk and undetermined BSE risk. Ten countries are classified as
negligible risk.
Controlled risk recognition is granted to countries where adequate measures,
including the removal of risk materials such as brains and spinal cords, are
taken even though some cases of mad cow are still found.
The United States and 30 other countries are in the controlled risk category.
Japan applied for the status last December, according to the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
A total of 36 cows have been found in Japan to be infected with BSE since the
first case was discovered in 2001.
The number of BSE cases found in 2007 totaled three and came to one last year
and one so far this year as the government took steps such as banning use of
bone-meal cattle feed made with brains and spinal cords.
About 20 countries and territories banned imports of Japanese beef after the
discovery of BSE cases in Japan and only five of them including Singapore so
far have resumed beef purchases from Japan.
==Kyodo