(JP)More mad cow cases coming, agriculture minister warns

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http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20011205a7.htm

 

More mad cow cases coming, agriculture minister warns

 

Agriculture chief Tsutomu Takebe warned beef eaters

Tuesday that more cases of mad cow disease are sure to

emerge after a third cow was confirmed infected

Sunday.

" Do not be surprised, as there is still more to come, "

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Takebe

said, referring to the outbreak of the deadly

brain-wasting illness.

 

Two other cows were confirmed infected in September

and November.

 

Takebe made the comments during a conversation with

Takahiro Yokomichi, vice president of the Democratic

Party of Japan, after a plenary session of the House

of Representatives. The DPJ is the nation's largest

opposition party.

 

The government is under fire for its response to the

outbreak, and observers said Takebe's comment could

stir up even more consumer anxiety.

 

The ministry began screening the carcasses of all

slaughtered cows Oct. 18 and assured the nation that

beef put on the market for human consumption is safe.

 

Earlier Tuesday, Takebe told reporters that his

ministry would intensify screenings for mad cow

disease and that it is also poised to take old cows

off the market.

 

" We are studying plans to examine all cows when they

grow old and can no longer produce milk. The

assumption is that such cows will not be put out for

human consumption, " he said. The three infected cows

were all old.

 

Takebe said screening for old cows will be conducted

separately from those that have been carried out by

the government since Oct. 18. The new screening will

involve livestock-health sanitation centers

nationwide, he added.

 

Also the same day, four opposition parties -- the DPJ,

the Japanese Communist Party, the Liberal Party and

the Social Democratic Party -- adopted a resolution

aimed at quickly enacting a bill containing urgent

measures to address the problem.

 

The four parties said they envision the bill being

passed when the regular Diet session opens next year

and will also seek the cooperation of the ruling

coalition.

 

The bill, compiled by the four parties, focuses on aid

measures to help farmers, distributors, manufacturers

and other groups affected by the outbreak of the

disease, which is formally known as bovine spongiform

encephalopathy.

 

According to the bill, the government is obliged to

buy and incinerate cows suspected of being infected,

as well as meat-and-bone meal, which is suspected of

being the source of the disease.

 

Celebrities plug beef

 

About 100 " yakiniku " beef-grill owners, noted

athletes, writers and musicians threw a party in

Tokyo's Akasaka district Monday night to promote beef

consumption and downplay the ongoing mad cow disease

crisis.

 

The party was part of the annual One Korea Festival

held since 1985 by Korean residents of Japan calling

for Korean reunification.

 

Restaurants serving yakiniku have seen sales sharply

decline since mad cow disease, formally known as

bovine spongiform encephalopathy, first surfaced in

September.

 

The Japan Times: Dec. 5, 2001

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