Japan May End Blanket BSE testing

WASHINGTON - Mar 11/05 - SNS -- There are signs Japan will ease its bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) testing regime for domestic cattle, which is being viewed as helping eliminate some of the last road blocks to resuming imports of U.S. beef.

The country's Food Safety Commission is considering proposals to stop testing cattle under 20 months of age for BSE. If adopted, this would bring Japan's testing regime in line with U.S. proposals that cattle that young do not need to be tested because their risk of contracting BSE is too low.

Kyodo News Agency reports commission chairman Yasuhiro Yoshikawa hopes to resolve the issue at a meeting later this month.

In October, Japan tentatively agreed to a resumption of trade in meat from younger animals, but discussions were stuck on methods to confirm the age of the animals used to produce the meat. Last month it was recommended that Japan accept grade A40 beef from the United States because it is mainly produced from cattle aged 12 to 17 months.