June 23, 2006

Nine in 10 Japanese businesses won't sell U.S. beef

Fewer than one in 10 Japanese restaurants and retailers plan to immediately stock U.S. beef once Japan resumes imports of U.S. product, according to a survey by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Only 7.4 percent of businesses indicated they would immediately resume selling U.S. beef, once it ships to Japan, probably in late July.
Fifty percent of businesses said they had no plans to resume beef imports and some 30 percent said they would wait and see, depending on price, health concerns and other variables. FSNet

June 26, 2006

CFIA: Canada strengthens feed controls

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is banning cattle tissues capable of transmitting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) from all animal feeds, pet foods and fertilizers. The enhancement will significantly accelerate Canada's progress toward eradicating the disease from the national cattle herd by preventing more than 99% of any potential BSE infectivity from entering the Canadian feed system.
The banned tissues, which are collectively known as specified risk material (SRM), have been shown in infected cattle to contain concentrated levels of the BSE agent. Canada has already applied identical protection to the human food system, where SRM are removed from all cattle slaughtered for human consumption. This measure is internationally recognized as the most effective way to protect the safety of food from BSE. Canadian Food Inspection Agency Link