The government said Thursday that it will send two inspectors to the United States to observe U.S. tests for StarLink genetically modified corn, which is banned in Japan, following its discovery in shipments from the U.S.
The inspectors from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will visit the U.S. for 11 days from Sunday and check data on pre-shipment tests at the Department of Agriculture, the ministry said.
They will also inspect distribution systems in St. Louis, where corn is stored, and in New Orleans, from where it is shipped, and observe sample-taking and testing, it said.
The ministry had initially wanted to have the inspectors take samples on the spot for testing but the U.S. refused to grant consent, ministry officials said.
Japan imports 12 million tons of corn for use as animal feed each year and another 4 million tons for food consumption, mostly from the United States.
StarLink is banned in Japan for either food or animal feed because a germ-killing substance contained in it is believed to cause allergic reactions in humans.
Japan and the U.S. agreed last December on a testing protocol to prevent StarLink from being mixed into corn shipments to Japan.
But there have been a series of reports in Japan on the discovery of traces of StarLink in imports from the U.S., although they were not reported in U.S. tests.