Japan accepts US beef imports
US - The California Cattlemen’s Association has announced that Japan will be once again accepting imports of U.S. beef. The opening of the Japanese market came after a month-long audit of 35 meat processing facilities in the U.S. to ensure that...

Now premium quality beef costs more than foie gras
UK - Farmers now get an average of £2.10 per kg, though the highest quality beef is almost £2.40 per kg. The price rise has been triggered by a shortage of beef supplies around the world. British beef prices have mainly been boosted after...

Reception In Japan To U.S. Beef Pleases USMEF Leaders
US - Although there is still a lot of work to do, leaders of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) say they are “extremely pleased by the reception” to the reintroduction of U.S. beef in Japan. In a telephone press conference from Osaka...

Hong Kong Approves U.S. Beef Plants
HONG KONG - Hong Kong has lifted bans on beef imports from three U.S. processing plants, according to Meat and Livestock Australia. Australia is the largest beef exporter to Asia, a position previously held by the United States. Source: Wisconsin...

S. Korea Keeps Option To Destroy US Beef Shipments
SOUTH KOREA - South Korea is maintaining its option to destroy or send back shipments of U.S. boneless beef and temporarily suspend exports from a U.S. production facility if a shipment is found to contain small bone fragments or other problems, a U.S....

Mad-cow protein is degraded by soil
FRANCE - The rogue prion protein that causes mad-cow disease is degraded by prolonged exposure to the soil, according to French research that may close off a path of exploration as to why cattle still fall sick with this disorder. Scientists are eager...

SRM breaches reported over the past month
UK - The FSA, in conjunction with the Meat Hygiene Service and DARD in Northern Ireland, has been carrying out a survey of compliance at cutting plants with legislation relating to the removal and disposal of vertebral column SRM from 24-30 month old...

Profs work on test that checks for mad cow in living animals
CANADA - Two University of Guelph scientists expect their innovative sensor for brain-wasting infections will eliminate the need to cull entire herds of cattle suspected of having mad cow disease. The sensor performs tests on brain samples obtained...

Fans celebrate return of Yoshinoya beef bowl after lifting of US beef ban
JAPAN - Japanese diners have celebrated the eagerly waited return of gyudon, a beef bowl dish by the Yoshinoya restaurant chain, after Japan lifted a ban on US beef imports. The fast-food chain took on a symbolic status during Japan's ban on US beef...

Case of mad cow disease found in France
FRANCE - A cow in central France has tested positive for mad cow disease, the country's fifth detected case this year, local authorities said. The 12-year old dairy cow from the central-eastern Bourgogne region was put down in August after developing...

Show cattle remain BSE casualties
US - Carleton Place area Hereford producer Mack James remembers the good old days before BSE, before stringent border regulations, when a man could haul his best animals unimpeded into the U.S. for showing at the Great New York State Fair. That was...

Canadian meat producers battling BSE's residual effects
CANADA - Canada's meat industry is still struggling to recover from a spat of disease scares and import bans that have crippled production. However, the lifting of trade restrictions and the implementation of feed standards has started to have positive...

Canada pushing forward with traceability
CANADA - Canada’s government is offering US$1.5m in financial help to the country's struggling meat sector in a bid get traceability programs on track. The Canadian Integrated Traceability Program (CITP) is one of many government efforts to aid...

US Feed Ban May Be Too Costly To Industry
US - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may have underestimated the cost to industry of the government's plan to improve the way mad-cow disease contamination is kept out of livestock feed, Steve Sundlof, director of the FDA Center for Veterinary...

Bright future forecast for quality beef producers
UK - The trade for prime cattle is running slightly ahead of the levels seen before the 1996 BSE crisis, with Scottish producers receiving around 225p per kilo deadweight. But during the intervening years costs have considerably increased. However,...

High tech tags now cattle industry standard
CANADA - The latest tracking technology is now the cattle industry standard for B.C. producers. Radio Frequency Identification tags replaced bar code tags introduced in 2000 when legislation required all cows leaving the herd of origin to be tagged....

Japan not to ease rule on U.S. beef imports: Farm Ministry official
JAPAN - Japanese Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Yoshio Kobayashi said Thursday that Japan has no plans at present to ease its rule on U.S. beef imports. Kobayashi made the remark at a press conference after U.S. Agriculture Secretary...

South Korea Resumes Importation of U.S. Boneless Beef
US - The Republic of Korea announced on September 7 that it will resume importing U.S. boneless beef, but only from cattle less than 30 months of age. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, in a statement released the same day, said: “Trade...

U.S. Beef Finally Cleared for Import
SOUTH KOREA - Korea has finally lifted a ban on U.S. beef imports after an inspection of 36 meat processing facilities in the U.S. in May and September found no problems, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Friday. Seoul and Washington earlier...

BSE-Induced Beef Trade Ban Still Haunts U.S. Market
US - The U.S. beef industry probably lost from $3.2 billion to $4.7 billion during 2004 after Japan and South Korea banned imports of the product following discovery of a BSE case in the U.S. South Korea has since lifted its ban and may begin importing...