Japanese experts said Saturday they are not surprised a second case of mad cow disease has been confirmed in the United States, and probably the first involving an American-born cow, saying they already knew about the danger of contamination in the country.
"When the United States was saying there is no bovine spongiform encephalopathy contamination (in a U.S.-born cow), all experts knew there is," said Yasuhiro Yoshikawa, a University of Tokyo professor and the head of a panel of the Food Safety Commission.
His panel, at the request of the farm and health ministries, is currently debating safety risks involved in a government plan to resume imports of U.S. and Canadian beef.
"We have been discussing the contamination level (in the U.S.) based on this premise, so our scientific discussions won't be affected by the news of one more (BSE-infected) cow," Yoshikawa said.
Japan is under pressure to lift its 18-month-old import ban on U.S. beef, which was imposed following the discovery of the first case in December 2003.
Takashi Onodera, a member of Yoshikawa's panel and also a professor at the University of Tokyo, said some panel members may demand that Washington provide more detailed information about the latest case, such as the cow's birthplace.
"But I think the policy in our deliberations will remain the same," he said.