TOKYO, March 10 (Reuters) - The Japanese Food Safety Commission said its subcommittee on mad cow disease would meet on Friday to discuss whether to approve the government's policy of excluding cattle aged less than 21 months from mad cow testing.
Finalising the policy based on scientific evidence is a crucial step towards ending a Japanese ban on U.S. beef imports implemented after the United States discovered its first case of mad cow disease in December 2003.
Washington has expressed frustration with Japan's slow pace in carrying out an October agreement to restart imports, and the meeting comes after U.S. President George W. Bush asked Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday to lift the ban.
Before the ban, Japan was the top overseas customer for American beef, buying $1.4 billion worth in 2003.
In October, the two countries agreed to resume shipments of beef from animals 20 months old or younger, which are considered at low risk of contracting the disease.
But the process has stalled as the two sides debate how to accurately tell the age of beef. Japan's youngest case of the brain-wasting disease, formally called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), was in an animal aged 21 months.
When Bush asked Koizumi to lift the ban, the prime minister was noncommittal about when this could occur, U.S. and Japanese officials said.
The Food Safety Commission, composed of scientists and working-level officials from the farm and health ministries, is responsible for discussing policy changes.
Japanese officials have said public safety is key and scientific evidence is vital for Tokyo to resume U.S. beef imports.
Japan began testing all its cattle for mad cow disease in October 2001 after it discovered a domestic case of the disease.
The commission's last meeting, on Feb. 24, made no significant progress. The Japanese farm and foreign ministers expressed uneasiness afterwards, saying the pace of the commission's hearings was slow.
The commission is scheduled to discuss the matter for three hours on Friday, it said in a statement.
At the last meeting, the scientists produced a rough draft on the policy to verify cattle age.
A government source expressed doubt that the commission would come up with a final draft on Friday, saying several more rounds of talks were needed.
The commission's policy is important as the rule will be applied to all imported beef.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit Japan to raise the ban issue with Japanese officials when she travels to the region later in the month.
Finalising the policy based on scientific evidence is a crucial step towards ending a Japanese ban on U.S. beef imports implemented after the United States discovered its first case of mad cow disease in December 2003.
Washington has expressed frustration with Japan's slow pace in carrying out an October agreement to restart imports, and the meeting comes after U.S. President George W. Bush asked Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday to lift the ban.
Before the ban, Japan was the top overseas customer for American beef, buying $1.4 billion worth in 2003.
In October, the two countries agreed to resume shipments of beef from animals 20 months old or younger, which are considered at low risk of contracting the disease.
But the process has stalled as the two sides debate how to accurately tell the age of beef. Japan's youngest case of the brain-wasting disease, formally called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), was in an animal aged 21 months.
When Bush asked Koizumi to lift the ban, the prime minister was noncommittal about when this could occur, U.S. and Japanese officials said.
The Food Safety Commission, composed of scientists and working-level officials from the farm and health ministries, is responsible for discussing policy changes.
Japanese officials have said public safety is key and scientific evidence is vital for Tokyo to resume U.S. beef imports.
Japan began testing all its cattle for mad cow disease in October 2001 after it discovered a domestic case of the disease.
The commission's last meeting, on Feb. 24, made no significant progress. The Japanese farm and foreign ministers expressed uneasiness afterwards, saying the pace of the commission's hearings was slow.
The commission is scheduled to discuss the matter for three hours on Friday, it said in a statement.
At the last meeting, the scientists produced a rough draft on the policy to verify cattle age.
A government source expressed doubt that the commission would come up with a final draft on Friday, saying several more rounds of talks were needed.
The commission's policy is important as the rule will be applied to all imported beef.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit Japan to raise the ban issue with Japanese officials when she travels to the region later in the month.