TOKYO, April 6 (UPI) -- Beef shipments from a U.S. meat processor were stopped by the Japanese government Friday.
Two tons of beef tongue from Dodge City, Kan.-based Cargill Meat Solutions were suspended by Japan's Agriculture Ministry as they did not have the necessary documents from the U.S. government.
The U.S. Agriculture Department said the shipments were supposed to have been sent somewhere other than Japan, and added they will look into why the shipment ended up in Japan.
The country first banned U.S. beef imports completely in December 2003 after the first outbreak of mad cow disease in the United States. The ban was a major blow to U.S. beef producers, as Japan was the single biggest foreign consumer of U.S. beef. Last summer Japan started importing cow meat from the United States so long as it was 20 months or younger.
