Japan's panel favors lift of US beef ban

Japan's Food Safety Commission delivered Thursday a report, recommending lifting the ban on part of US beef imports.

The government is expected to approve the recommendation next week and resume beef imposts by the year's end, which will quench to some extent the spat between Japan and the United State over the beef ban imposed due to mad cow disease concern.

According to the report, beef product from cattle of up to 20- month old in the United States and Canada bear very low risk of transmitting the disease.

Japan slapped a ban on Canadian beef in May 2003 and on the US beef in December that year due to the finding of mad cow disease, formally known as the bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Before the ban, Japan was the largest US beef importer.

Japan was asking the United States to test every cattle before the exportation. The United States had been refused to do so.

The two countries reached an agreement about a year ago, in which Japan acceded to the resumption of import of beef from cattle aged up to 20 months at an early date without a blanket inspection.

However, Tokyo's caution of making a final decision in the following days has irked the United States. Some US lawmakers have urged the government to take retaliatory measures if Japan fails to life the ban within this year.

Source: Xinhua