WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has failed to answer questions Japanese authorities have posed about mad cow disease safeguards, an official told UPI.
The lack of answers could hamper ongoing negotiations aimed at reopening Japan's borders to U.S. beef, which are slated to gear up again next week in Tokyo. Japan has resisted reopening its borders since shutting them in December after the detection of a cow infected with mad cow disease in Washington.
Among the unanswered questions, said the Japanese official who requested anonymity, are how many cows with signs of a brain disorder the USDA has tested for mad cow disease.
This is of particular concern to Japanese officials now in light of the recent revelation USDA officials did not test an animal displaying brain disorder symptoms consistent with mad cow disease at a Texas plant in April.
Other unanswered questions, the official said, are evidence the ban on incorporating cattle tissue into cow feed has been strengthened and the status of ongoing investigations into whether the Washington cow was a downer, or unable to stand.
