More U.S. meatpackers win approval

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The U.S. Agriculture Department said Friday it has approved another four meat-processing plants for beef exports to Japan, bringing the total to 39.

The addition of the four plants — three in Nebraska and one in Illinois — comes after the Japanese government found no problems with them through its own inspections, the department said.

Unlike other beef, exports from U.S. government-certified facilities will not be subject to Japanese re-inspection, apart from a sampling system.

The outcome of the on-site inspections and a recent decision by the World Organization for Animal Health to enable the U.S. to export beef regardless of cattle age have prompted Washington to press Tokyo to relax mad cow-related restrictions on U.S. beef even further.

But the two nations failed during a two-day meeting in Tokyo that ended Thursday to resolve the gap over Washington's demand that Japan ease the limit on U.S. beef currently set at cattle aged no more than 20 months.

In many nations and regions, including the European Union, U.S. beef imports are limited to products from cattle aged up to 30 months. Japan has persisted with its stricter standard due to concerns about mad cow disease.

Japan banned U.S. beef imports after the first U.S. mad cow case was discovered in December 2003.

The ban was lifted in December 2005 under conditions including the age limit but was reinstated the following month after a veal shipment from the U.S. was found to contain part of a backbone, a risk material banned under the bilateral beef trade agreement.