Sloppy global food standards

NHK reports that Japan's agriculture minister Shoichi Nakagawa says Japan plans to oppose plans to revise guidelines on international beef trade, which would lead to the relaxing of restrictions to prevent mad cow disease, or BSE:

The World Organization for Animal Health has drawn up a draft revision that will be submitted to its general meeting in May. The draft says beef that does not contain bone should be authorized for trade, regardless of the age of the cattle or whether it was tested for BSE.

I my view, such global food safety standards should always allow countries to set their own strict rules. If the global standard is sloppy, then the World Trade Organization would immediately rule that the national legislation is a "trade barrier". I'm glad to see that Japan is noticing this, and putting consumer concerns before the interests of exporting countries.

Read more about the OIE's global BSE standard debate.

BSE/food safety previous

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