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The article focuses on a marketing campaign which the U.S. Meat Export Federation is using in Japan to get the Japanese to eat more U.S. beef. The Japaneses government banned U.S. beef in 2003 after an outbreak of mad cow disease, but the ban was lifted in June of 2007, and the federation, through the campaign which uses baseball legend Nolan Ryan, wants to get the Japanese back to eating U.S. beef instead of the beef of other countries including Australia.

The article reports on the suspension of beef shipments from the Lexington, Nebraska plant of meatpacker Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. to Japan following the discovery of banned cattle parts in the shipments. According to the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, quarantine inspectors have identified bovine spinal columns, banned under a bilateral agreement, in one of the 732 boxes which came from the meatpacker. It recalls that U.S. beef shipments to Japan dropped following the emergence of mad-cow disease in the U.S. in 2003.

The article reports on the statement issued by Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz that Canada is seeking a deadline for ending the ban of South Korea on its beef. It recalls that Canadian beef has been banned by South Korea since 2002 when a case of mad-cow disease was discovered in a cattle herd in Canada. Ritz also adds that Canada wants to be able to sell its products on the same terms the U.S. received when South Korea opened to U.S. beef in 2008.

The article reports on the promise by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to speed up efforts to get his presidency back on track after reaching a modified deal with the U.S. on beef imports, an issue that raised protests. On June 20, 2008, the U.S. agreed to indefinitely permit South Korea to import U.S. beef only from cattle younger than 30 months, which is deemed to pose less risk of mad-cow disease. The protests against the original trade deal started over health concerns, but opposition politicians widened them into his policy agenda.

The article reports on the impact of the decision of South Korea to honor only part of a pledge to resume beef imports from the U.S. on the latter's trade policy in June 2008. Thousands of protesters held demonstrations to oppose the resumption of trade on June 8. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak stated that his country could start importing beef that does not come from older cattle, which are considered more susceptible to bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad-cow disease. People who eat contaminated beef can contract Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

The article reports on protests staged by South Koreans against the restarting of U.S. beef imports in 2008. The demonstrations stemmed from food-safety concerns arising from a report that mad-cow disease may still be present in the U.S. According to Kang Jae-sup, chairman of the ruling Grand National Party, the issue could affect Korea-U.S. relationships. Also mentioned are the implications of the cancellation of the beef-import deal for the U.S.

The article focuses on a new regulation that will place new restrictions on livestock feeds to introduced by the U.S. of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2008. According to a pre-publish copy of the document, the main objective of the measure is to reduce the risk of transmitting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad-cow disease. The rule is also expected to help encourage foreign countries to lift import restrictions on U.S. beef. The FDA said compliance with the rule could cost the industry about $100 million for the first year.

The article reports that South Korea has suspended beef imported from the U.S. after inspectors found bone pieces banned over mad-cow concerns in a recent shipment. The country's Ministry of Agriculture said vertebrae were found in one box of meat, which believed at risk of carrying mad-cow disease.

Reports that the European Union has welcomed the British government's plan to combat `mad-cow' disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Retention of the ban on British beef exports; Potential links between Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and BSE; Plans of the British government to challenge the ban on court; Need for a concrete framework for export restrictions.