TOKYO, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Japan will lift a ban on U.S. and Canadian beef imports by year's end after a panel declared that young American beef is safe if high-risk parts are removed.
Japan's food safety panel said in its report, released Monday, that it is unclear whether the United States will be able to take adequate measures to minimize the risk of mad cow disease, whose discovery in the United States triggered the ban, the Japan Times reported Tuesday.
However, the completion of the report effectively brings Japan's 20-month ban on U.S. beef a step closer to its end.
The draft says beef and internal organs from U.S. and Canadian cattle aged up to 20 months pose a "very low" risk if materials that could transmit mad cow disease are properly removed and if the Japanese government takes responsibility for strict compliance with the conditions.
The panel's findings will now be subject to a monthlong public hearing before the commission finalizes the report.
Foreign Ministry officials hope for a renewal of imports of beef and internal organs from U.S. and Canadian cattle aged up to 20 months by year's end.
