By Tom Johnston on 4/23/2008 for Meatingplace.com
Japan said Wednesday it has suspended beef imports from a National Beef Packing Co. plant following an apparent shipping snafu.
USDA Press Secretary Keith Williams confirmed that one of 700 cartons shipped by the Brawley, Calif., plant contained short loin that included a portion of the vertebral column, a specified risk material prohibited by Japanese protocols.
"One carton out of 700 cartons was not intended to be shipped to Japan," Williams told Meatingplace.com.
Williams added, "The United States and the Government of Japan have notified the California company that it will not be allowed to ship again to Japan until we have determined how the single carton was included in this larger shipment."
A Japanese official was quoted in media reports as saying, "It is the first SRM case since the resumption of U.S. beef imports in July, 2006."
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