Japan and the U.S. Still Battling on Beef
The United States agreed to improve the training for workers handling beef bound for Japan, according to this AP story. In 2006, Japan permitted imports of American beef after a four-year ban triggered by a mad cow scare. Shortly after the gates re-opened, U.S. exporters allowed some neural tissue into a shipment, and the Japanese government clamped down again.
The U.S. wants the Japanese business, and has done its best to quell the fears of that government’s health officials. The article suggests that talks are proceeding well but cautiously. The U.S. has promised to educate the relevant workers about what is and is not allowed for export to Japan.
What I want to know is: What about better training for workers processing meat for domestic consumption? The meat industry is notoriously lax on many scores. Can we get more-informed processors as well?
We as a culture haven’t threatened to stop buying poorly handled meat, so we get what our low prices give us. Maybe the Japanese have the right idea.
