Koizumi - Japan Will Not Lower Beef Standards To Please US Agribusiness

[hatrack]

TOKYO - Japan will not lower its beef safety standards to suit the needs of American producers, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday, defending himself from criticism the government has failed to conduct proper food inspections.

Japan halted U.S. beef imports last month after the discovery of banned backbones in a shipment of American veal.
The fresh halt to imports was a harsh turnaround for the U.S. beef business in Japan. Tokyo banned American beef in December 2003 after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease and lifted the embargo only in December.

Koizumi told lawmakers Tuesday that Japan would not change its policy of importing American beef only from cows 20 months old or younger, despite evidence that cows up to 30 months old are free of mad cow disease. "Americans should understand that Japan's safety standard is strict," he said. "They should understand that Japan's stricter standard only allows cows younger than 20 months, even though 30 months are considered safe elsewhere."

EDIT

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/13808745.htm

[FloridaPat]

1. What does backbones have to do with age of cow?

Any cow people around to explain this?

Nice to see a country concerned about their citizens.

[Blue_Forney05]

2. I would love the day

when local family farmers can make their presence again. The agribusinesses lace our food with shit, mistreat the animals, and give us unsafe food.

[phantom power]

3. Imagine, having actual "standards." With teeth.

Here in America, the new policy seems to be "You should adhere to standards, unless you don't want to, for any reason. Adhere to them. Or not. Whatever."