Interesting Little Article

[15444]

Maybe the US and Japan are not so far off from resolving their problems even partially?

http://www.asahi.com/english/world/TKY200407020166.html

[kato]

My browser wanted to install "language packs", so I cut & pasted it.

DEAL IN WORKS: BSE talks focus on `young' U.S. beef
The Asahi Shimbun
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Japan and the United States agreed Wednesday to work out terms for a resumption of U.S. beef exports to Japan, but only the meat of young cattle, sources said.

The tentative agreement was reached during a second round of working-level talks in Colorado aimed at getting Japan to partially lift a ban on U.S. beef imports that was imposed in December following a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States. Talks began in May.

Specifics of Wednesday's deal will be discussed at a third round of working-level meetings to be held in Japan from July 21.

Meat from relatively young cows is less likely to have abnormal prions, the infectious protein blamed for the brain-wasting disease.

Japanese officials acknowledged it is not always possible to detect BSE in young cattle, even if every animal is tested. Such testing was one of its original conditions for resuming imports.

The meeting comprised experts on mad cow disease as well as government officials.

Still, officials could not agree on how young the cattle should be when they are slaughtered for export to Japan or whether they should be exempt from all-out BSE testing, sources said.

An August meeting of bureau directors-general is planned to finalize conditions for resuming imports. Japan's Food Safety Commission must approve the deal.

In Wednesday's meeting, the U.S. side said slaughterhouses exist in the United States that process only young cattle. They suggested that Japan-bound beef come only from such facilities, and that the animals' ages can be confirmed by records from the ranches.

They also proposed that meat for export to Japan should come from slaughterhouses that routinely remove risky body parts where prions accumulate, regardless of the animal's age-as is done in Japan.U.S. officials said the government could give a seal of approval to such facilities.

Japanese participants in the meeting seemed agreeable to the proposals, sources said.(IHT/Asahi: July 2,2004) (07/02)

This sounds like a bit of a hint and a warmup for the Japanese consumer.

Now, what are the odds of them being able to identify animals with records from ranches, when those fellows don't want to ID their calves?

MMM.....

We all know somewhere that young and old cattle are already segregated, and risk materials are removed, and there IS a traceback in place don't we?

MMM......

[kato]

BTW... good hunting, 15444.

An excellent sleuth, you are.

[kato]

Here's another one.

Beef News
Japan said to have backed off 100 percent BSE testing demand at trade meeting

by Eric Hanson on 7/2/04 for Meatingplace.com


For the first time, Japan admitted during trade talks with the United States the difficulty of detecting BSE in young cattle and acknowledged that blanket screenings for the disease have limitations, the Kyoto News Service reported.

Japanese representatives met this week with their U.S. counterparts in Fort Collins, Colo., for the second of three discussions on the stalled beef trade between the two countries resulting from the discovery of BSE in Washington state in December.

Up to now, Japan insisted that all American cattle destined for slaughter be tested for BSE before they would agree to resume trade.

The three-day talks included visits to a slaughter facility, feed lot and feed mill designed to show the Japanese members how the United States responded to the discovery of a BSE-positive cow in the country.

"Our tours of a slaughter facility, feed lot and feed mill were important opportunities for the Japanese members of the working group to witness the implementation of U.S. BSE safeguards, our rigorous enforcement of these safeguards and the compliance by industry," Peter Fernandez, associate administrator of the Agriculture Department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said in a statement.

The U.S. working team also discussed the inconclusive tests from USDA's surveillance program.

In late July a final meeting will be held in Tokyo, where the group will try to produce a technical report that will give the two governments a road map of how and when beef trade could resume.

[rusty1]

If Japan opens to the US how can they keep Canada out!

[whiteface]

It would sound hopeful rusty but I still say they've done a pretty decent job this far at keeping us out and we still need to work our butts off to pack and sell our meat ourselves over the long term. Short term, maybe this years calves will see some American bidding. We still need to press severly to our governments that the States needent be the only ones working out trade deals with other countries. We're not chopped liver here, we've got the goods to be highly competitive on an export level. Let's do it!

[BWC]

Your right on he money whiteface. The producer has to get control of our industry back. Ther are older guys in their 70's and 80's in my neck of the woods that say the only beef that leaves this country had better be in a box. It seem like July2/04 has taken some ugly twists in the big game. But we can't back off on pressuring government and policy makers to expand packing capacity, and opening up new export markets. I've said it before that Japan isn't the only country in the world that wants beef. Leat them and the Americans play. Can't back of now.

[BWC]

You got er BWC, following around like good little puppies behind the big American dog has gotten us nowhere.
Time for some policy change to let loose some Canadian Huskies.

The little bit of beef that Canada has to offer in exports will feed so few in Asia that there should be no fear of us. Why keep talking harmonization? What the hell is it going to accomplish besides an industry controlled by our American neihbors. They will only treat us fairly when they decide, and will sit back and use the freedom comic routine when Rcalf and groups like that do their dirty work. Easy to blame the Rcalf group and have USDA made out as hero's. The truth is, things could be different and they choose not.

If this deal is made with the Japanese, good for America, but it will not deter my deter mination to have Canada step out on it's own in search of export markets beyond what the USA allows.

[rsomer]

Yes, the talks between the U.S. and Japan sound hopeful. There is no doubt trade in beef will resume between Japan and the U.S. The question is when. Japan elects their upper house July 11. The BSE trade talks are to conclude July 22 with an announcement early in August. At this point it appears obvious that the USDA rule on importing our live cattle will depend upon the terms of any eventual agreement between Japan and the U.S. Speller has said look for the border to open mid August. This would seem to be a good fit but it is a very tight fit before the U.S. goes into election mode. I don’t think there is much opposition to our live cattle going south if the U.S. is selling beef to Japan. In fact, contrary to GLTUSA, I believe the U.S. needs our live cattle if they are exporting beef. The U.S. remains the worlds largest importer of beef.

[whiteface]

I still want our Country to learn from the events of the last year that we have a quality product that deserves to stand on its own, not just when the Americans feel like using us. If we have some American bidding with our calves this fall, great, you all know already it won't do a damn for cull cows, Japan ain't taking them from the States for sure without tests. Don't anyone breathe a sigh of relief for one minute, we're still Americas mistress and have done very little in the way of making our own deals with other countries for export. This fight definatly does not stop if and when the States chooses to steal our live product. We need to pursue more killing capacity and more competition for our beef. How exactly do they plan to convince Japan with no traceback and now two "false positives." Did they stage these to "prove" that they shouldn't be doing these tests because of the false positive occurrance or to try and "prove" quickly while Japan was visiting that they don't have any bugs. I will reiterate an article I read a year ago from a scientist who said, "I'm more concerned if they don't find more cases of BSE...that would suggest to me that the testing isn't working." I didn't print this article, sorry guys, but it shocked me a little and remains ingrained in my memory how he went on to say that as a scientist, if you know and expect a test to be working, it will find the problems that it is supposed to be detecting, if it doesn't a scientist generally seriously questions whether or not it works, human error or otherwise. I bring this up only because I'm frankly questioning at this point the frequency of all the positives of these tests. Didn't we wonder back when our cow was found if it was American intervention? We haven't found one since. Why? Wasn't it odd that on the eve of our cattle going south that they found a "Canadian" case? Couldn't find any more Canadian cases after that. Two "false positives show up back to back while the Japaneese are here. And why aren't they pointing fingers at us this time? How long do you suppose it is that we hear of BSE agian? False positives, anything? I say never. They'll manage to find a way to pressure Japan to take young beef and we'll never deal with BSE again. Still won't get us a home for our cull cows guys. We're a long way from a decent solution.