S. Korea halts beef imports from U.S. slaughterhouse

SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea halted beef imports from a U.S.
packinghouse Friday after finding it has repeatedly shipped spoiled meat, the
quarantine agency said.

Est 969, a slaughterhouse of Swift Beef Co. in Greeley, Colorado, faced the
sanction after spoiled beef was found in three of its shipments sent since
November, said the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service.
A total of 2,466 tons of beef has been imported from the packinghouse since July.
According to quarantine rules between South Korea and the U.S., Seoul can suspend
imports until corrective measures are taken if spoiled shipments from the same
factory are found twice.
"Some of the shipments were suspected to have gone bad because the temperature
was not properly maintained in the import process," an official of the
agriculture ministry said.
Japan reportedly suspended imports from the same slaughterhouse last month after
finding it had shipped beef that was improperly labeled on its export
certificate.
Korea banned all U.S. beef imports in December 2003 after a case of mad cow
disease was confirmed in the state of Washington. It began allowing imports of
boneless cuts in April 2007, but again halted quarantine inspections in October
of that year after backbones were discovered among the imports.
Seoul and Washington signed a revised sanitation agreement in April this year
allowing most beef cuts to be imported, with the exception of specified risk
materials.
The two governments later modified the deal to stipulate that all beef must be
from cattle under 30 months old following massive nationwide protests in Korea
against the agreement.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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