S. Korea to introduce cattle, beef tracking system next week

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will introduce a comprehensive cattle and
beef tracking system in an effort to boost consumer confidence, the government
said Wednesday.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the measures that
will go into effect on Monday require all cattle ranchers to report and tag the
dates of birth, sale and butchering of the animals to enhance quality control and
facilitate a swift response in case of a recall.
The system also compels butchering facilities to check for ear tags and other
records before processing cattle to ensure consistency in meat quality levels and
place of origin. This identification is intended to help consumers easily
determine where the meat they are buying comes from.
Seoul passed a law authorizing the tracking system on Dec. 21, 2007, when the
country first moved to reopen its market to U.S. beef. South Korea domestically
rears 2.9 million cattle with 680,000 butchered each year on average.
The decision to open the market to U.S. imports in mid-April of this year raised
public concerns about exposing Korean consumers to mad cow disease, and triggered
nationwide protests that rocked the Lee Myung-bak administration in its infancy.
The ministry said that a failure to follow guidelines may result in fines of up
to 5 million won (US$3,773). Consumers will also be able check the history of the
meat they buy via a government-run Web site (www.mtrace.go.kr).
The new rules will not officially be put into effect, however, until June 22,
2009, for butchers, packagers and retailers, giving them six months to bring
their facilities up to code.
yonngong@yna.co.kr