A US beef producer’s attempt to restart exports to Japan has fallen foul of both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Until last December’s case of mad cow disease, Japan was a major importer of U.S. beef, but recently the country agreed to resume buying beef from Creekstone Farms Premium Beef of Kansas, on condition that each animal would be tested for the disease. Accordingly, Creekstone established a testing facility alongside its slaughter line, intending that the $20 cost of each test would be borne by the sale of tongue, liver and other specialty cuts to Japan at premium prices.

However, the body that believes testing some 220,000 head out of 35 million is adequate to ensure that beef is safe to eat, the USDA, has blocked the move. The packing industry voiced its strong opposition, arguing that private testing would create the impression that untested beef is unsafe for human consumption. “It is critically important that the U.S. government retains oversight for animal health and food safety, as well as international trade negotiations,” commented Jan Lyons, a Kansas cattle producer and president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

“The world’s leading experts in animal health and risk analysis, including the World Organisation for Animal Health and the USDA International Review Team, have agreed that testing all cattle does not provide additional protection for consumers.

“Japan did not ban beef from just one company. It banned all beef from the United States. Testing is not a simple marketing decision that will only impact those who decide to surrender to this unjustified request in order to gain access to export markets,” Lyons continued. ”If one market required 100 percent testing, all cattle in the U.S. would have to follow suit because products from the majority of the cattle harvested in the United States are exported. This unwarranted testing would become the standard for doing business, and the cost will be borne by the cattle producers. This is a decision that affects the entire industry. Therefore, it is critical the U.S. government establish the parameters by which beef can be exported.”

A similar line has been taken by the USDA Review Team; “The subcommittee considers testing of all cattle slaughtered for human consumption  to be unjustified in terms of protecting human and animal health. The NCBA has stated that it believes the multiple firewalls erected over the past 15 years to protect food supplies from mad cow disease, including the feed ban, surveillance system and removal of specified risk materials from the food supply chain is sufficient to ensure that U.S. cattlemen continue to produce safe beef.”

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