미국 네브라스카주 다코타시티에 소재한 타이슨푸드(Tyson Fresh Meats)사의 245C(수출작업장 승인번호) 작업장에서 일본으로 수출한 쇠고기에서 광우병 위험부위(SRM)인 등뼈가 적발되어 해당작업장에 대한 수입이 전면중단되었다는 소식입니다.
타이슨 푸드의 245C 작업장은 한국으로도 쇠고기를 수출하고 있는 작업장입니다. 245C 작업장은 미국 농림부의 감사에서도 2004년 1월에 광우병 위험부위(SRM) 제거 위반이 지적되었으나 전혀 개선되지 않고 같은 해 4월, 6월, 10월에 똑같은 위반을 되풀이된 위생상태가 불량하기로 악명 높은 쇠고기 수출작업장 중의 하나입니다.
=====================
Japan suspends beef imports from US plant
By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press Writer Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press Writer – Sat Oct 10, 12:48 pm ET
TOKYO – Japan suspended beef shipments from an American meatpacker Saturday over its failure to remove cattle parts banned under a bilateral agreement, as officials here raised concerns about U.S. safeguards against mad cow disease.
Japanese quarantine inspectors found bovine spinal columns in one of 732 boxes shipped from Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., which arrived in Japan in late September, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said. The box contained 35 pounds (16 kilograms) of chilled short loin with spinal bones, which were not released commercially, said ministry official Goshi Nakata.
The suspension only affects Tyson’s factory in Lexington, Nebraska, one of 46 meatpacking plants approved to export beef to Japan.
It was the second suspension for the Lexington factory, Nakata said. Japan slapped a four-month ban on beef shipments from the same plant in February 2007 after finding two boxes of beef lacking verifications to show they came from cattle that met Japan’s safety standards.
“It’s extremely regrettable,” said Agriculture Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu, who has just returned from meetings in Washington with U.S. trade and farm officials. “We need to closely examine if it was just a careless mistake or there is a systematic problem.”
Japan’s new ruling Democratic Party has proposed a tough response to any violation to a bilateral safety agreement, including a blanket ban on U.S. beef shipments.
The Japanese ministry has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate how the box containing the banned parts ended up in Japan.
Japan will await results of a U.S. investigation to determine the penalty for the Tyson factory, the ministry said.
Gary Mickelson, a spokesman for Tyson, called the delivery of that box a mix-up. He said the Springdale, Ark.-based company is investigating it and will work with the Agriculture Department to “take corrective measures” so the plant can start supplying Japanese customers again.
He said Tyson has seven other beef plants approved to ship meat to Japan. It was not immediately clear how much meat Tyson ships to Japan, but Mickelson said it was not among its top five international markets in 2008.
The problem surfaced just one day after U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urged Akamatsu on Thursday to lower Japan’s strict safety standards in line with international standards.
“It was bad timing,” said another Japanese agricultural official, Yusuke Hirata, referring to the Tyson shipment. “I hope the U.S. side would see it as an embarrassment and try to make an improvement.”
Washington has repeatedly criticized Japan for its tough import restrictions, which authorities say have no scientific basis.
Under the bilateral trade agreement, U.S. exporters must remove spinal columns, brain tissue and other parts considered linked to mad cow disease. U.S. beef shipments to Japan must also come only from cattle age 20 months or younger, which are believed to pose less of a risk.
U.S. officials have urged Japan to allow imports of beef from cattle aged at least up to 30 months, a widely used safety standard elsewhere, and possibly scrap age restrictions.
“We don’t have a deadline, and we have not made any decisions as to whether we should change any safety standards,” Hirata said. He said, however, a decision could be further delayed “if the latest incident was found to have involved serious violations.”
Japan banned all U.S. beef imports in 2003 after the first case of mad cow disease was discovered in the United States. Japan resumed buying American beef in 2006 after the bilateral trade agreement setting new safety standards.
Mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a degenerative nerve disease in cattle. In humans, eating meat products contaminated with the illness is linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal malady.
=================================
Japan blocks some Tyson beef imports after mix-up
Sun Oct 11, 4:06 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Tyson Foods Inc. said Sunday that Japan had blocked beef shipments from one of its plants because they did not comply with safety standards designed to guard against mad cow disease.
Tyson said it had inadvertently included in a shipment to Japan a box containing spinal bones, which are prohibited under a trade agreement.
Tyson plans to work with the U.S. Agriculture Department to investigate the cause of the mix-up at its Lexington, Nebraska beef plant, spokesman Gary Mickelson said.
The company said it has seven other plants that continue to be approved to ship to Japan.
Under a trade agreement with Japan, U.S. exporters must remove spinal columns, brains and other cattle parts that are associated with the disease.
The mix-up comes as U.S. officials hope to negotiate an end to certain restrictions put in place for beef exports after the first cases of mad cow disease in the United States.
Japan was the top export market for U.S. beef before the United States found its first case of mad cow disease in December 2003. Tokyo first banned U.S. beef, but since 2006 has allowed imports of been from animals under the age of 20 months. U.S. cattle producers hope to raise that age limit to 30 months to allow for exports of a broader range of products.
Tyson said its shipment, a 35-pound box of short loins, complied with the age requirement and was safe to eat.
(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Diane Craft)
===================================
日, 광우병 유발부위 섞인 美 쇠고기 수입금지
뉴시스 | 이남진 | 입력 2009.10.10 15:59
【도쿄=AP/뉴시스】이남진 기자 = 미국의 한 육류 도축장에서 일본으로 수입되는 쇠고기에서 금지된 광우병(BSE) 유발부위가 검출되면서 이곳에서 가공된 쇠고기 수입을 전격 중단했다고 일본 농림수산성이 10일 밝혔다.
농수산성에 따르면, 미국 ‘타이슨 프레시 미트(Tyson Fresh Meat)’ 도축장에서 지난 달 보내온 732상자의 냉동 등심 가운데 한 상자에서 금지된 소 척수 부위가 발견됐다.
이번에 수입이 중단된 네브래스카의 타이슨 도축장은 일본에 쇠고기 수출이 승인된 46개 도축장 가운데 하나이다. 일본 정부는 그러나 다른 “미국 도축장에서 가공된 쇠고기 수입에는 영향이 없다”고 전했다.
이와 함께 농수산성은 타이슨 도축장에서 금지된 소의 부위가 포함돼 수출하게 된 경위에 대해 미 농무부의 조사를 요청한 상태다.
일본은 지난 2003년 미국에서 광우병이 발생한 이후 미국산 쇠고기의 수입을 전면 중단했다가 2006년 새로운 안전 기준에 합의한 다음에야 미국 쇠고기 수입을 재개했다.
광우병은 프리온 단백질의 화학구조에 의해 발생하며, 이병에 걸린 소는 거동불안 등의 행동을 보이는 것이 특징이다. 인간에게 전염될 경우 ‘변종 크로이츠펠트-야코프(vCJD)’라는 희귀병에 걸리게 된다.
일본은 미국과의 쇠고기 통상협약에 따라 광우병 유발부위가 포함된 쇠고기의 수입을 금하고 있다. 또 생후 20개월 미만의 소에서 생산된 고기만 수입토록 규정하고 있다.
미국은 일본 정부가 비과학적인 기준을 토대로 강력한 수입 규제를 취하고 있다고 반복적으로 비판하고 있다. 미국은 생후 30개월 된 소까지 수입하도록 규제를 완화할 필요가 있다고 주장하고 있다.
