South Korea will resume quarantine inspections on U.S. beef shipments next week after effectively halting them earlier this month, a government official said Friday.
The decision comes after the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry carefully examined official U.S. explanations on several thousand tons of U.S. beef that included cow backbones and ribs in violation of an agreement reached earlier.
An official at the Agriculture Ministry said quarantine inspections will resume on Monday for newly arrived beef shipments from the U.S. as well as 6,832 tons that have been held in customs.
Under a deal reached in January 2006, South Korea agreed to allow the import of boneless beef from cattle under 30 months old.
This pack permits Seoul to impose an import ban if parts like backbones that were classified as specified risk materials (SRMs) are found. SRMs are blacklisted because they pose the greatest risk of transmitting mad cow disease to humans.
South Korea had banned all American beef after a case of mad cow disease case was confirmed at a U.S. ranch in late 2003.
"While quarantine inspections on American beef are to start again, the current ban will be maintained on the four meat processing centers that shipped ribs, while Seoul has revoked its export permit from the one that shipped backbones," said Lee Sang-kil, head of the ministry's livestock bureau.
Of the five meat processing centers affected, three are run by Cargill Inc. and two by Swift & Co. Both are major exporters of American beef to South Korea.
If more bone-in beef and SRMs are found in future shipments, Lee said a "two-track" approach will be made to ensure that sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) negotiations can move forward regardless of any future discovery of ribs or backbones.
"If non-SRM meat like ribs are found in future packages, the meat concerned processing plant will be barred from shipping meat until a new SPS deal is signed," he said. If SRM materials are discovered, the export permit of the meat processing plant will be revoked, while a blanket ban will be reinstated.
He, however, said negotiations on a new SPS will not be put on hold even if no American beef reaches consumers. For bone chips, only the packages that have them will be sent back, he said.
He said South Korea has no immediate plan to conduct on-site inspections of U.S. slaughterhouses to ensure safety. However, he hinted that a visit may be arranged before a new import arrangement is signed.
"At present Seoul accepts Washingto's pledge to increase the number of inspectors, introduce tougher labelling rules and use computerized weight measurements to determine if bones have been mistakenly put into a package destined for exports," the policymaker said.
The decision is expected to allow progress to be made on negotiations aimed at revising South Korea's SPS that prohibit bone-in beef, such as ribs and backbones from being imported.
Washington has been calling on Seoul since late May to change its SPS rules to permit the import of bone-in beef as well.
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has granted the United States a mad cow "risk controlled status" that technically opens the door for exports of most cow parts as long as they are from animals under 30 months old.
The decision comes after the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry carefully examined official U.S. explanations on several thousand tons of U.S. beef that included cow backbones and ribs in violation of an agreement reached earlier.
An official at the Agriculture Ministry said quarantine inspections will resume on Monday for newly arrived beef shipments from the U.S. as well as 6,832 tons that have been held in customs.
Under a deal reached in January 2006, South Korea agreed to allow the import of boneless beef from cattle under 30 months old.
This pack permits Seoul to impose an import ban if parts like backbones that were classified as specified risk materials (SRMs) are found. SRMs are blacklisted because they pose the greatest risk of transmitting mad cow disease to humans.
South Korea had banned all American beef after a case of mad cow disease case was confirmed at a U.S. ranch in late 2003.
"While quarantine inspections on American beef are to start again, the current ban will be maintained on the four meat processing centers that shipped ribs, while Seoul has revoked its export permit from the one that shipped backbones," said Lee Sang-kil, head of the ministry's livestock bureau.
Of the five meat processing centers affected, three are run by Cargill Inc. and two by Swift & Co. Both are major exporters of American beef to South Korea.
If more bone-in beef and SRMs are found in future shipments, Lee said a "two-track" approach will be made to ensure that sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) negotiations can move forward regardless of any future discovery of ribs or backbones.
"If non-SRM meat like ribs are found in future packages, the meat concerned processing plant will be barred from shipping meat until a new SPS deal is signed," he said. If SRM materials are discovered, the export permit of the meat processing plant will be revoked, while a blanket ban will be reinstated.
He, however, said negotiations on a new SPS will not be put on hold even if no American beef reaches consumers. For bone chips, only the packages that have them will be sent back, he said.
He said South Korea has no immediate plan to conduct on-site inspections of U.S. slaughterhouses to ensure safety. However, he hinted that a visit may be arranged before a new import arrangement is signed.
"At present Seoul accepts Washingto's pledge to increase the number of inspectors, introduce tougher labelling rules and use computerized weight measurements to determine if bones have been mistakenly put into a package destined for exports," the policymaker said.
The decision is expected to allow progress to be made on negotiations aimed at revising South Korea's SPS that prohibit bone-in beef, such as ribs and backbones from being imported.
Washington has been calling on Seoul since late May to change its SPS rules to permit the import of bone-in beef as well.
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has granted the United States a mad cow "risk controlled status" that technically opens the door for exports of most cow parts as long as they are from animals under 30 months old.
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