|
June 08, 2007
|
|
| Ribs sent to Korea that contained bones were the result of “human error,” a United States government official said Wednesday local time in Washington. “U.S.D.A. inspectors did not follow procedures that were established for verifying requirements and for the product certification of the export certificate. This comes down to human error,” Keith Williams, spokesman for the U.S. agriculture department, said during an interview with Brown Field News. The mistake was made at the beef processing center, and Am-Mex, a company that deals mainly with Mexico, assembled and sent the ribs to Korea, Williams said. Korea has agreed to import only deboned U.S. beef, but a recent shipment from the United States had ribs with bones in some packages. While Williams admitted error, Susan Schwab, a U.S. Trade Representative, warned that Congress would not pass the proposed free trade agreement between Korea and the United States if Korea doesn’t fully open its beef market. “That includes boneless, bone-in, offal and variety meats,” Schwab said, mentioning the recent decision made by World Organization for Animal Health that the United States has mad cow disease under control. Korea has banned the processing centers of Cargill and Tyson Foods where the ribs exported to Korea were processed. Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the influential Senate Finance Committee, was unhappy with the Korean government. The latest import flap, no matter how it arose, only confirmed his doubts about Korea’s import policies, said Baucus in a statement. He has warned that the Congress will reject the free trade agreement between Korea and the United States if beef trade doesn’t pick up to his satisfaction. “All American beef is safe ― whether it has bones or does not. The time is long past for Korea to follow international standards,” Baucus said in a statement. “My patience is running out.” The Korean government said that it has not yet received any official explanation from the U.S. government. Neither has it announced specific dates for resuming the inspections of U.S. beef. Currently, U.S. beef imports are virtually on hold. By Hwang Young-jin Staff Writer[yhwang@joongang.co.kr] |
|
