bse

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

2nd BSE case proves U.S. argument is baseless

As the U.S. Department of Agriculture has urged Japan to resume U.S. beef imports, arguing that U.S. cows that are 20 months or younger are safe, a second BSE-infected cow was discovered in the United States.

This proves that the U.S. argument calling for lifting the Japanese import ban is groundless and that it shows how the U.S. way of testing is unreliable.

To begin with, unlike Japan and European countries, the United States has not established a system to identify cattle's date of birth and birthplace. Nevertheless, it says that the recently discovered BSE-infected cow is "eight months old" and insists that beef from cows 20 months or younger for export to Japan is safe. However, the argument of the United States without scientific grounds is simply unconvincing.

The U.S. government has long refused to employ the western blot test, a highly accurate inspection system used in Japan and European countries. Although the United States finally decided to adopt this system, it will be used only for on-the-spot inspections carried out at random.

Akahata on June 27 criticized the Japanese government for even considering lifting the ban on U.S. beef from cattle that are 20 months or younger. - Akahata, June 26, 2005