U.S. beef bound for S. Korea to carry age label

By Jon Gambrell

Published: June 3, 2008

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Several U.S. beef companies said Monday they will begin labeling shipments to South Korea to note how old slaughtered cattle were at the time of their death, responding to weekend protests over fears that U.S. beef imports carry a risk of mad cow disease.

Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc., as well as Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., JBS Swift & Co., National Beef Packing Co. and Smithfield Beef Group Inc., said the labels would show whether the cattle were younger or older than 30 months when slaughtered. The companies said in a joint news release that it would be up to South Korean customers to decide whether to purchase the meat.

U.S beef has been banned by South Korea for most of the past four years over fears of mad cow disease. The South Korean Agriculture Ministry said in April it would begin loosening restrictions on U.S. beef imports, beginning with imports from cattle younger than 30 months.

Last week, the ministry announced the government had finalized new regulations that call for South Korea to import nearly all cuts of American beef without restrictions on the cattle's age.

"We're making this offer in response to the concerns of some South Korean consumers by voluntarily implementing this temporary labeling program as a way of ensuring the re-opening of the market and attempting to rebuild the confidence of the South Korean consumer,” Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said.

In 2003, South Korea joined Japan in banning U.S. beef imports after a cow in Washington state tested positive for mad cow disease. Officials later determined the cow had been born in Canada.

Japan lifted its ban in 2005 but imposed it again in January 2006 after an import violation. U.S. beef shipments to Japan resumed in July 2006, but sales became a fraction of what they once were.

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