South Korea is considering whether to inspect all imported U.S. beef to alleviate health concerns, the spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Monday.
Speaking to reporters, Lee Yang-ho said government experts are mulling the feasibility of such a move that is advocated by some civic groups and local cattle growers.
"The technical and practical aspects are being looked at," the director general said, cautioning that it may not be easy to examine all imports. Shipments from the U.S. accounted for two-thirds of all imported beef before the American products were banned in 2003.
The Agriculture Ministry had previously said it will conduct a complete test on the first four shipments that arrive in the country, but afterwards do random testing of 5 percent of all imports.
This announcement was highly criticized since 95 percent of U.S. beef could enter the country without being examined.
"In the case of the first shipment, which contains 9.3 tons of beef in more than 720 separate packages, a complete inspection is possible," Lee said. He said 5 percent is the maximum that inspectors can examine without hiring more people and buying new equipment.
In late 2003, South Korea banned the import of beef from the U.S. after a case of mad cow disease was discovered in that country. The disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, spreads when cattle are fed recycled meat and bones. The disease can cause Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
Seoul and Washington agreed to lift the ban early this year, but the first shipment did not arrive until late last month because of lingering concerns about the safety of U.S. beef.
Under the agreement, South Korea will not allow bone parts and specified risk materials (SRMs) into the country. SRMs refer to brains, spinal cord marrow, backbones, and certain internal organs which pose the highest risk of transmitting mad cow disease to humans.
As for the timing for the resumption of local U.S. beef sales, the official said all tests, including X-ray screening, will be concluded by the end of the week, and if there are no problems U.S. beef will be available as soon as this weekend.
In a related development, Min Dong-seok, assistant minister for agriculture trade policy, is scheduled to hold talks Thursday with Chuck Lambert, deputy undersecretary for marketing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, on outstanding issues regarding the resumption of U.S. beef imports.
"The U.S. wants a clear definition of what can constitute a violation of the beef import deal regarding bones and cartilage," a source said. Currently, Seoul bans U.S. beef imports that contain bones, even small fragments included by mistake. There was no mutual understanding on cartilage.
Lambert may also bring up the subject of allowing imports of beef ribs, which accounted for the bulk of U.S. exports in the past, the source said.
Seoul, Nov. 13 (Yonhap News)
S. Korea mulling inspections of all U.S. beef imports |
