United States beef facilities under scrutiny

SEOUL – South Korea will send a team of experts to scrutinise US meat-processing facilities before deciding whether or not to lift a three-year ban on US beef imports, officials said yesterday.

“They will stay in the US from next week through early next month for the scrutiny,” a top agriculture ministry official said, while refusing to confirm news reports about their planned departure on Thursday. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the team would likely leave for the United States on August 24 and return home on September 3.The Seoul government will make a decision on whether it will resume the imports of US beef early next month after the team returns, it said.Seoul last month decided to prolong its ban on US beef imports for safety reasons, citing problems at US meat-processing facilities, officials said.South Korea banned imports of US beef in December 2003 following a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in Washington State.Seoul had suggested it would reopen its market in July to the import of boneless US beef from cattle aged 30 months and under.But Seoul’s agriculture ministry said the ban should be maintained for at least a month because some US processing facilities failed to meet standards required by South Korea.US senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, had warned the prolonging of Seoul’s ban could scuttle the ongoing free-trade talks between South Korea and the United States.Grassley represents Iowa, one of the leading beef-producing states.Nampa-AFPSouth Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the team would likely leave for the United States on August 24 and return home on September 3.The Seoul government will make a decision on whether it will resume the imports of US beef early next month after the team returns, it said.Seoul last month decided to prolong its ban on US beef imports for safety reasons, citing problems at US meat-processing facilities, officials said.South Korea banned imports of US beef in December 2003 following a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease in Washington State.Seoul had suggested it would reopen its market in July to the import of boneless US beef from cattle aged 30 months and under.But Seoul’s agriculture ministry said the ban should be maintained for at least a month because some US processing facilities failed to meet standards required by South Korea.US senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, had warned the prolonging of Seoul’s ban could scuttle the ongoing free-trade talks between South Korea and the United States.Grassley represents Iowa, one of the leading beef-producing states.Nampa-AFP